


Beta-Testing the Demon Summoning Program

by Ysavvryl



Category: Shin Megami Tensei
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Human Sacrifice, Sexual Harrassment, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-02-09 07:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 99,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12882933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysavvryl/pseuds/Ysavvryl
Summary: Being the first tester of a revolutionary program has its benefits: you get updates sooner and have a connection to the super genius behind it.  But there's also many drawbacks, as you're often the first to encounter glitches, poor controls, and bad design decisions.





	1. The Last Taste of Normalcy

**Author's Note:**

> I am not following the game's structure strictly, as a number of bosses and events are changed around to make it work better as a written adaptation. Also, this is bound to have inaccuracies with demon fusion and due to my main resource being the fan translation. I still hope it's an interesting story that you readers will enjoy.
> 
> This came out of a discussion I was having about my fanfic projects for NaNoWriMo 2017. As I said then, of the mainline SMT games, II, Nocturne, and IV:A have wonderfully interesting character concepts for their protagonists. And the world of IV presents an awesome sandbox to play with. SMT I, well, it may be better explained in a manual or artbook somewhere, but it's about a blank-slate protagonist who gets a free program to summon demons. The plot's something of a mess to follow and, as someone else said about another game, is a sort of 'and then something else blew up' progression. But I've worked with vague and jumbled video game plotlines before, and there is some potential. As a result of thinking over that, this story resulted.

'LCP 3 - Bonus lecture (I want to be done with these legal classes so I can focus on forensics studies, sigh)'

This professor had a tendency to drone on his lectures and today was particularly bad. Although it was mid-terms week, he had insisted on providing a little 'preview' of the next class session. About half the students were napping or nearly napping. Kazuya stayed awake by writing down details of the lecture in his outline notes. His neat tiny handwriting managed to cram in most lectures on one page, front and back. Since this was an unwelcome bonus, he added in little snarky bits to keep interested.

"An example of this process can be found in..." the professor droned, pausing in writing on the chalkboard to relate an example.

Phew, that was good. Kazuya set his mechanical pencil down for a moment and rubbed his hand. His arm always felt light when he was required to take off his comp during classes, though that did make the note-taking easier. Although sometimes, he wondered about sneaking the audio recording on if he felt like napping. No one ever got called out on it by this professor, it seemed.

A screechy melody shot through his thoughts, turning his blood cold.

"Hmm?" He glanced around, but it seemed that wasn't a sound in reality. Sometimes this was embarrassing; how could he admit to anyone that he heard music that wasn't there? But this, this had him concerned. Whenever he heard these snatches of songs, there was a good chance that something strange was going on. Not always, although he often wondered if it wasn't because he never found out what some songs related to.

But the quality of this song was painfully familiar. He hadn't heard something like that since the day his father died. What was going on? He tried to turn his attention back to the lecture, but the song seemed to linger this time. Something very bad was going on.

The lecture still droned on. Normally, Kazuya was an excellent student; he could have gotten into far more elite schools than this police academy. In those minutes, he found himself biting his lip and glancing at the clock, watching the hand slowly tick away the hour. He ended up slipping up in the format of his outline, which really irritated him even though it was a bonus lecture. And it wasn't really a relief when the class was finally over because he had to find out what this was about.

"Oh, is the class up already?" the professor asked as other students started to stir to the campus bells. Kazuya was already shuffling his pencil and notebook into their proper places in his bag. "Make sure to review lectures for this class over the break or you'll quickly fall behind."

As this was his last class for today, he could pull out the comp and latch it back onto his arm. Many students here preferred cellphones and saw him as a nerd for using an arm-mounted computer everywhere. But Kazuya never liked the small sizes of cellphones. His mother was always losing track of hers and the comp's battery lasted far longer.

Flipping open the lid, he found that he had several messages. Most of them didn't seem important, but his mother had sent him a text ten minutes ago. That would have been after the alarming sound. 'Could you add coffee to your grocery list? Sorry, but I didn't realize I was nearly out until just now.' There was also notice that she had taken her afternoon medicines. Good, she was close to remission on that.

Well, she should be fine. 'Sure, I should be back soon after that,' he sent back to her. A quick shift of icons, and... yup, he already had coffee on his list. It never hurt to make certain after his Mom sent him messages like this.

Then, what about Yuka? Kazuya hadn't seen her for a few days, which wasn't great but she seemed busy with work. Come to think of it, he hadn't heard from her either. Concerned for her now, he dialed her cell from his address list, then took the headset off the comp to attach to his right ear. Then he picked up his bag and headed out.

By the time it got to the fourth ring, he was starting to sweat. Was she okay? Then there was a click. "Kazuya!" she hissed. Before he could ask her what was up, she added, "Talk cute with me."

He opted to take the stairs down since the elevators had bad reception. "Don't we always, Yuka?" he said, trying to be upbeat.

"Well yeah," she said, lighthearted too although she seemed to be faking it. Then she whispered, "I'll explain later, just keep it normal now."

Normal but cute, huh? Kazuya smiled to himself, then sang out, "Yuka, the keeper of my heart, I miss you so much that everything has grown as cold as the arctic, as dark as the abyss, oh my love my beloved, will you fly back to me soon?" As it echoed off the stairwell's walls, somebody whistled and made others laugh.

Yuka laughed too. "Kazuya! Where about you?"

"I just got out of the most tedious test, so I'm still in the police academy," he said.

"That was lovely, but don't be quitting your day job to pursue singing."

"Oh, why not?" he asked in playful irritation.

"Well..." then there was a soft grumble, apparently about someone else.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked, acting worried (which he was, but not like that). "Sorry, did I call during work again?" He should really get around to adding her work schedule to his daily planner, but she kept avoiding the issue.

"Ah, no, I was talking to somebody earlier and they were a real headache. Sorry if it seemed like I snapped at you at first. Actually, sorry for not calling all week. I meant to, but..."

"Hey, it's okay," he assured her, getting to the bottom of the stairs. There was a crowd as usual, so he slipped out of the throng and headed towards a side exit which should have less traffic. "I'm just glad to hear from you. I was getting worried that something had happened to you." Ah right, she wanted cute. "It's hard enough being away from you, sweetie, I find myself hoping that it's you every time I see a girl with a long hair like yours. But they'll never be the cutie you are."

She giggled at that. "Oh Kaz, you charmer, you always know how to make me feel better. If it wasn't for the militia blockades, I'd come see you. Actually, on something more serious, I've been thinking about what you were saying last time about your house."

"Yeah, I wish I could take over the deed, but this is a bad time for more expenses like that." They'd already discussed this; why bring it up again? It was like she was covering for something.

That was confirmed as she went back over her points. "Kaz, just focus on your schooling and taking care of your mother. I've checked my finances and everything, and it should be fine for me to take over the deed so you and your Mom don't lose the house. Look, the blockade is going to allow travel between districts tomorrow, or at least it should. I'll come over there and confirm everything with the real estate agent and you guys."

Leaning against the wall, he opened up his daily planner. He had a break from school and work coming up. In spite of the military blockade, the academy was expecting those still in this district to continue attending classes. "My afternoon lab clean-up got canceled for tomorrow because the professor was called in for questioning, supposedly. Still have squad drills in the morning, so I could meet up with you in the afternoon."

"Sure, I'll try to get in on the 12:15 train so we can have lunch together too. Do you think you can ask your Mom to make those chicken crepes again? Those were really good."

Kaz smiled at that. "Sure thing." He opened up the grocery list again to add a rotisserie chicken to the list. That would be handy to pick up anyhow if this blockade was going to last much longer. Then he texted his mother. 'Yuka's coming in for lunch tomorrow and wants the chicken and cream cheese crepes. You fine with making those?'

"I really hope the blockade lets her see her doctors," Yuka said. "She seemed to be getting into good shape last I saw her."

He nodded to that. "For some reason, the hospital down the street has locked itself down. It's not shut down completely since there's still lights on at night, but nobody knows what's going on there."

"That can't be good. It's bad enough that the government got taken over, but they really need to lighten up with these blockades and lockdowns. From the way they act, it's like they think that ordinary citizens are the enemy now." There was a short huff from her; she was angry about this.

"It doesn't seem too bad here in Kichijoji," he said. "At least, everyone is going about their normal business, aside from the hospital and train station lockdowns. But if there's an emergency with my Mom, or anybody else here, that could make things tough."

"Yeah. Um... look, I've gotta run, sorry. We'll talk more tomorrow, there's something I really need to tell you."

"Sure, take care of yourself," he said. "I don't want to be hearing that you collapsed from overwork or anything."

She tried to laugh, but there was clearly something wrong going on. "I should be fine, but thanks. Take care of yourself too, I love you Kaz."

"I love you too, Yuka," he said warmly, hoping that might cheer her up. "See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, tomorrow." Then she hung up.

"What's going on with you?" he mumbled to himself. But then, she should be here tomorrow. That would make things better. Kazuya shifted his comp screens to contact the real estate office, to make sure they'd be fine with a meeting tomorrow.

Then two more messages popped up at once. One was from his mother and the other was from someone called Steven. Strange, he didn't know anyone with a foreign name like that. Kazuya checked on his mother's message first. 'Great, she's welcome over any time! And yes, but then we need some chicken and a block of cream cheese. I should have everything else for crepes.'

'Got it, and I might be later than I thought.' After sending off that reply, he checked on the one from Steven.

A melody drifted through his mind, similar to the last but calmer and not as nerve-wracking.

"How is this important?" He dropped the message to the task bar and the music left. But once he brought it back up, the music returned. That was not normal, even for his odd ability, or whatever this was. The message itself was just as weird.

'From Steven.

To everyone who accesses this network:

Humanity is currently in grave danger! Demons of legend and myth have awoken from their long slumber. If nothing is done soon, humanity will be overcome by their menace. But I have devised the means for people to defend themselves by using the demon's own power against them. Attached to this message is a program that allows for communications, contracts, and summons of demons. This Demon Summoning Program will make the difference in how well humanity can weather this storm. I pray that those with the courage to use it will accept it, to fight the demons that would destroy us and to preserve humanity.'

'Download Demon Summoning Program? Yes/No'

"But demons are just folklore," Kazuya said softly. There was a good chance this was some kind of malware, or a forcefully promoted game that would send silent charges to bank accounts.

While all those reasons made sense, something did not make sense. The music. The music only entered his head when something major was happening, when something changed. On occasion, he did get these long strands when he had to make big decisions, like when he'd decided to join this police academy. He'd been unsure of what school to pick and then the music was there when he was holding the brochure. There was something about this program that would change his life.

It would make sense to say no. But, Kazuya's hand wavered over the touchscreen before he decided on 'yes'. He had the space in his comp for this, even as a large program. By the progress bar, this would take some time. He dropped the task window to contact the real estate agent.

This call didn't take nearly as long as the last; he was heading out the door now that most of his fellow students had left. After the office's secretary confirmed his identity, he said, "I'd like to meet with an agent about the status of my home's deed."

"Oh, I was going to call you about that, actually," the secretary said, shuffling some papers in the background. "We've had an offer come through from Yuka to take over the deed, as you both were planning on getting married this winter?"

Covering over his surprise that she'd already done that, he said, "Yeah, that true. We've got a marriage license set up already, so..."

"Yes she sent us a copy of it and all the other paperwork required. It's all in good order, so all we need now is an acceptance from you in place of your mother. Do you mind an electronic application, since you've called me on a comp?"

"No, that'll work out just fine," Kazuya said.

"Alright, I'm sending it over."

When the signature application popped up on the screen, he pressed the wrist part of the computer mount to let it confirm his identity again. Then he just needed to use the stylus to sign his name in the slot. There had been so many of these forms to fill out lately, between the academy, the doctors, the real estate, and the marriage preparations. "Got it, sending it back."

"Thank you, sir. And congratulations on your engagement! I hope it all goes well."

Even with all that was going on, he still smiled at that. "Thanks. I'm glad we could get this business sorted out now. That should be it, but we might drop by he office tomorrow afternoon if there's still things to discuss."

"No problem, your agent, hmm, she should be open after one thirty. There's been a lot of the governmental forms to adjust to the coup's demands, though, so you might have to wait."

"That's fine. Thanks again." The program was still downloading, so he shut the lid once the call disconnected and set the headpiece back in its slot.

Of course, it wasn't long that he'd been walking down the street that he double checked what he had to do still. Groceries, walk Pascal down to the shrine, studies after dinner. He should have time to investigate this demon summoning business in the evening, since the test for his gun license wouldn't take much study. As he was limited to this district now, he stopped by the underground mall to take care of the shopping.

The mall was buzzing with activity, being the place most people chose to hang out during the lockdown. There was a loud argument from one of the smaller shops; the blue jackets with that white band indicated that it was Ozawa's gang again. While they were trouble, Kazuya walked on. He'd known a lot of kids from his high school who'd gotten in trouble for getting in Ozawa's gang or getting in their way. That was part of why he'd decided on this career. But, this kind of thing didn't need his intervention.

The store was low on a few groceries. Perhaps others had seen a need to stock up too. He picked up what he could there, although he had to think about the coffee. What was left here was a brand that his mother didn't like, but her usual brand was out of stock. Maybe the cafe would have some? He'd try that before bringing home this stuff. While waiting on the cashier, he checked the list again, marking off what he had gotten. That left the coffee, dog food, and cat food to get.

"Hey Kazuya," the cashier said with a smile. "How's your mother doing?"

"She's doing fine, might even be in remission," he said.

"That's great, I hope she is. She's one of those folks that you miss once you realize you haven't seen them around in while, quite a cheerful presence."

He nodded. "Yeah. Hey, you have any Azcan coffee in back?"

The cashier thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so. It's an import, you know, and Gotou and his men are supreme nationalists. I heard they might even try going back to isolationism."

"Can we really do that in this age with computers and all?" Kazuya asked. "That stinks."

"Yeah, sorry man. We might get some more in four days, but I can't say for sure. Hey, but the cafe down the hall might still keep some in stock. Don't know about the specific brand, but the owner keeps a large selection."

"Yeah, I was going to check there. Thanks anyhow." Now the pet food items...

Fortunately, there was a pet store here. They were mostly focused on birds, since they and hermit crabs were the only actual pets in here. Kazuya waggled his fingers at the cockatiels, making them whistle and triggering a chorus of coos, caws, and chirps. Chuckling to himself, he went over to where the food was stocked. If he had his bike, he might consider grabbing a larger bag of dog chow just in case. As it was, he picked up the usual ones and headed out.

The cashier here was a girl he didn't recognize. "Oh, you've got a dog and cat?" she asked as she sorted out his change.

"Not exactly," he said. "The dog is mine, but the cat is the one who keeps mice out of the old shrine down in Inogashira Park. There's been nobody taking care of the shrine for a while, and the blockade stopped the person who was supposed to come in this week. I've been making sure the cat's taken care of, since she has an important duty."

"Aw, well thanks for thinking about a lonely shrine kitty," she said. "Bye now, have a good day."

The cafe wasn't far from there, a place where a lot of students would drop in to study and socialize. He made his way through the couches and chairs to reach the register. They had their bagged ground coffees in a cabinet out here, so... no Azcan, unfortunately. Maybe an import ban had struck the brand? Except some of the other coffees here were also imports.

While they didn't have his mom's preferred brand, they did have some nice ones out here. More expense, though, and he had to watch his finances. It was for his mom, though. Making her happy would be worth an indulgence. He picked out a specialty dark roast they both loved, then took it to the register to purchase.

Kazuya checked on the progress of the Demon Summoning Program. It was completely downloaded and now had to be installed. Little of it seemed familiar, and that man's name was on the information window. Perhaps this was some individual's pet project? The anti-virus and anti-malware programs on his comp hadn't found any issues with it, so he set it to install. That was going to take more time.

Someone touched him below his waist in an awfully intimate way. "Hello, are you the one I've been looking for?"

As he brushed off the arm, he found himself looking at a very attractive woman. Something about her made him think that she would make for an appealing underwear model, or something less modest than that. She certainly wasn't someone he'd just run into in this mall ordinarily. Before his imagination got the better of him, he reminded himself of what he had. "Probably not, please don't do that."

"But I have a feeling that you are," she said with a beauty queen's smile. "You wouldn't happen to be Kazuya, would you?"

"Yes, but you might have the wrong Kazuya," he replied.

Although he'd asked her not to, she still grabbed hold of his upper arm. "I think not, not with that handsome face. I'm Yuriko, and I've been waiting for you. Wouldn't you like to come somewhere more private to talk with me?" She tightened her grip, not about to let go.

What should he do? His mind blanked briefly and his face got warm with embarrassment. Why was she doing this? After a moment, he recalled some of the self-defense he'd learned early on in the academy and shifted away so he could pry her hand off. "No, please don't bother me again."

"What's with this coy spectacle?" Yuriko said, although she was the one making it a spectacle. Then she whispered, teasing him, "Do you really want to make yourself seem less of a man for turning down a woman's affections?"

"Heh, get a room you two," someone said while passing them by, giving a snicker. Yuriko's eyes seemed to gleam at that.

"I want you to let me go and keep to yourself," Kazuya said, trying to act confidant when he didn't feel in control of this. "I'm engaged to someone else, so stop doing this."

"Does that really matter?" she said, changing her posture to where he caught a glimpse of the cleavage beneath the dark blue jacket she wore.

He looked away. "Yes it does."

"Oh, hey Kaz," the clerk there said, thankfully giving him an opportunity to slip away. "Congrats on the engagement, I hadn't heard about it yet."

He smiled, pushing back his nervousness over this encounter. "Thanks, we haven't told many people yet. Our planned wedding date is still a couple months off, so we were waiting until closer to then."

"Are you just faking it to blow me off?" Yuriko asked, coming closer again.

"No," Kazuya said.

"It must be true, miss," the clerk said, thankfully covering for him. "He's got a great girl and neither of them seem like they'd want anyone else."

"But how pretty can she be compared to me?" Yuriko asked, looking at him. Kazuya tried to focus on paying for the coffee. "Kazuya, you may not realize it yet, but I am meant to be by your side. I will do anything for you, so forget about her and come with me."

Why was she like this? "No, leave me alone," Kazuya said.

Fortunately, the clerk was able to get Yuriko distracted long enough for Kazuya to get out of the cafe before she kept going. He kept tense and watchful even when he was in sight of his home. And this had seemed like it could be such a good day this morning. Now the only thing keeping him out of a bad mood was the fact that Yuka would be visiting tomorrow.

It helped that his husky bounded for the door to greet him, wagging his tail wildly. "Hey, Pascal," Kazuya said, dropping his bags to hug the dog. He got licked in the face for that. "We'll take our walk in a bit, let me just put stuff away."

"Hello," his mother called happily, coming into the room. "Did you get everything?"

"Hi Mom, yes I did," he said, patting Pascal before letting him go to get the bags again. "How's things been here?"

"It's been quiet, but I suppose we should be grateful for that," she said. "Some feeling has made me uneasy the past few hours."

She was one of the very few who knew. "I heard the music in the middle of class," he said. "Something really bad has happened, but that's all I know. I spoke to Yuka after that, but she couldn't speak long for some reason."

"Well she'll be here tomorrow, just have to be patient," she said, taking one of the bags. "We probably shouldn't worry too much, though it wouldn't hurt to be cautious."

Kazuya had to agree with that. Until they knew what was going on, there wasn't much they could do other than be cautious. "Right. Maybe I'll take a small offering down to the shrine, just in case."

"It wouldn't hurt. Oh, and have you heard the latest about the insurrection?" She followed him into the kitchen to help put things away. "Gotou is claiming that we need to get back to our roots and bring back the old beliefs that made Japan what it is. For that purpose, he says he's going to summon demons and revive the ancestral gods."

"That's..." he nearly said it was crazy, but stopped as he remembered that he was installing a demon summoning program to his comp. "That might actually be it."

Once he had the things that needed to be in the fridge put away, he opened up his comp to show her. "So does it summon demons?" she asked, not doubtful at all. But then she'd always believed in ghosts; believing in demons wasn't much of a step for her.

"I don't know, haven't tried it yet," Kazuya said. "The music came when I got the message for this too, so I went ahead and downloaded it. Something big has changed, something bad... demons appearing in the world could fit that. But if that Steven is correct, this should give me the means to control them."

"That would be helpful," she said. "Just, be careful if you do. It sounds risky."

He nodded. "Yeah. And who knows, maybe it'll give me a boost when on duty."

His mom had some preparations for dinner already going, so he left her to that while he went to take Pascal on a walk. It seemed like an ordinary afternoon out here, something that felt strange today. His neighbor Yuka (a high school girl rather than the early-twenties woman his Yuka was) was outside of her house; a fellow high school boy was out there chatting with her. The other day, the doctor who lived there had mentioned that his daughter was dating someone, but not much on who. Kazuya left them to their talking; they hadn't noticed him anyhow.

Further down the street, some of the younger punks were skateboarding in the road. There was an awful lot of gang activity happening around here, with Ozawa's group being the loudest voice. That had been a concern about deciding where to live with his mother and Yuka. His great-grandfather had bought the house a long time ago; it would be respectful that he take up ownership since his father passed away. But then, he'd been not old enough at that time, and now financial problems forced them to allow Yuka to take ownership. Though, it wouldn't matter once they were married.

He left the high school punks to their business too. Normally he'd warn them off the road because there was still traffic at this time of day, more once people started coming back from work. But if this hunch about demons was real, they might not get much longer to be outside peacefully. At least he had Pascal, a retired police dog. Although, would even a trained dog help much against demons? Using demons against demons made some sense after all.

Closer to the park, things grew quieter. This was an old section of town, with buildings even older than his house. A few had already been lost to progress and real estate speculators. But, the old Shinto shrine was still here. The overgrowth of its vines and bushes was getting a bit much. Kazuya had been thinking about clearing that away, just to keep this place looking decent.

As his eyes skimmed over the familiar place, he spotted something, well, new. It looked like there was a path of hedges that wasn't there before, with another shrine-like building beyond it. "When did that go up?" he murmured to himself. He'd been coming here every day and a project like that couldn't be kept secret.

"Meow?" A calico cat emerged from the small interior of the old shrine, her tail held high.

Kazuya smiled at her, putting the mystery shrine out of mind for the moment. "Hey there, Nan." Looking down also showed a pair of displayed dead mice. She tended to set them in different spots on different days, as if proof that her work was continual. "You're keeping this place well. Ready for some food?"

He let go of Pascal's leash for this. Technically, he wasn't supposed to do that by the neighborhood rules concerning dogs. But, Pascal was a good dog, well trained. He wouldn't go far. Kazuya got the bag of cat kibble from his bag and placed some in her bowl. As this place didn't have running water, he also had to bring some water from home to rinse out her water bowl and refill it. He didn't mind the effort; she was a good cat, much like Pascal.

A tone went off in his head, right before there was a hiss from Nan and a bark from Pascal. Nan and Pascal were used to each other; they even played a bit some days. Then this was...

A beep came from his comp as well, a sound he wasn't used to. Kazuya looked over and saw a strange violet-skinned creature reach a bony long arm out to Nan's food dish. Of course, Nan was having none of that and smacked the hand away from her kibble. The pot-bellied creature whimpered and pulled back, but kept its eyes on the food. Nearby, Pascal was growling, but holding off on attacking while the creature wasn't. There was also an uncertainty to his ears; he didn't know what it was.

"A gaki?" Kazuya said quietly, then opened up his comp. The demon summoning program was active now and while the colors were bad and barely readable, it confirmed that he was in the presence of two demons: a gaki and a nekomata. Wait, that latter one... he glanced back at Nan. Somehow, he'd missed that the end of her tail was now forked; she looked like an ordinary calico cat otherwise.

The program was now running dialog from the demons. 'Away you, scram!' the nekomata Nan said.

'Hungry, smell nice,' the gaki said.

'Bowwow!' That was from Pascal, who clearly couldn't be a demon.

There was a menu to attempt communicating with the demons. Did it have headset capabilities? The interface was sluggish, but he found headset options and activated that. He got out the headset to attach to his ear. There was a hissing, but a computerized voice came from it. "Please?" According to the screen, this was the gaki. Somehow, he'd activated a mood option, which said that the gaki was nervous and weak.

"Hey, don't bother Nan while she's eating," Kazuya said into the headset. The mood option interpreted him as being lightly scolding.

Both the gaki and Nan looked up to him in surprise. Even Pascal stopped growling and pricked his ears up towards him. So, maybe this did have some effect on animals too. "B-but, food," the gaki said, hungry.

It wasn't near segaki day, but these were tormented souls who could never fulfill their hunger themselves. "Here, I can give you some kibble for yourself," Kazuya said, opening the bag up to grab a small handful. He then crouched down and set the kibble on the broken sidewalk between them. Even if it was just a gaki, he was still wary of getting his fingers too close to it.

"Food!" The gaki crawled over, reached out, paused a moment to look up at him. Kazuya nodded, so it began greedily eating the kibble.

"Good, leave me to my eating," Nan said, then settled back over her dish.

Once the gaki was done, it rubbed its mouth with the back of its hand; something cracked, like a knuckle being put back in place. "Nice person, nice," it said, contented. "You summoner?"

"Apparently, so," Kazuya said, still working through the menus. Ah, there was the e-manual, not exactly in an intuitive place. That didn't help when there were so many menus here. Was there an option to change the color scheme? That was rather hideous in his opinion.

"Must thank you, mm, work for you?" the gaki offered. The program popped up a message asking if he wanted to form a contract with this demon.

A gaki couldn't offer much, but it'd be a start. "Sure, let me figure this out first," Kazuya said, telling it to accept the offer of contract. Some numbers were highlighted, available MAG vs required MAG. But it seemed the gaki required very little MAG, whatever that was. Digital lines appeared around the gaki; it tried to touch one right before it vanished. The program claimed that the contract was successfully made.

He sat down on the sidewalk to work this out. The manual had instructions that made some sense of things. MAG stood for magnetite, something that was required for demons, like a food resource. If a summoner was out of MAG, the demons under their command would lose health until they passed out. The program didn't explain what magnetite actually was, but he seemed to have a good stock already. Maybe it was the battery power of his comp?

After reading the manual, he found out how to actually summon the gaki. It was as simple as pressing a button on the touchscreen... and yet not because there were two menus to get through to that and a confirmation pop-up. The digital lines appeared in the air again and the gaki was back with them. "Huh? Strange summoner."

"It's new technology," Kazuya said. "And I'm still learning it. Were you okay?"

"Yes, gaki had better place than normal," it said, its mood being good. "Um, gaki new to summons too. Try hard."

"We'll figure this out together then," he said.

Meanwhile, Nan had stopped eating to clean her face. "Relying on a gaki then?" she asked, noted as being smug and jealous. "I suppose that's fine for a novice, but that one won't take you far."

"Have to start somewhere," Kazuya said. "Although it surprises me that we can talk like this. I never expected you'd turn out to be a nekomata."

"Actually, neither had I," she said, rubbing her paw against her left eye. "But something changed today, and here I am, a demon. It doesn't seem that bad, really. Those mice are going to wish they'd never been born."

He chuckled. "I'm sure of that." Trying out another menu within a menu within a menu, he found an option to contact Steven for feedback. "All right, I can tell this guy that his interface is an absolute mess," he said to himself. "Let's see what else I might have to say."

It took some time, during which Nan continued to clean, the gaki investigated the overgrown grass, and Pascal decided to sniff around. Kazuya finally had a good first hand look at this program to make a critique out of, and sent that off to Steven. This kind of thing happened, when sometimes a program's first users ended up as beta testers. Given that it was freeware, that was most likely the case. He sent the mail off, then thought again about the strange new shrine.

"You're a kind young man, Kazuya," someone said behind him.

He looked up and saw an old man in monk's garb standing there in the old shrine, some hedge clippers in hand. "Oh, I'm just helping out," he said, getting up so he didn't seem disrespectful. "Are you the new priest for this place? I hadn't expected to see anyone until tomorrow at least, because of the blockades on travel."

"I'm actually working at the one back there," the old monk said, gesturing to the new place. "But since this is here and no one attends to it, I felt I may as well look after it too."

"I see. The previous priest here died a month back and we've had some trouble getting a new one." He then gestured to the calico nekomata. "And this is Nan, she takes care of the mice here. I've been coming by to make sure she's taken care of, but I've got school and a job to keep up with."

"I always felt I protected this place from bad spirits," Nan said. "I suppose that means I really can do that now, and have to if things like this gaki are going to show up and steal food."

"Was hungry, not hungry now," the gaki said.

"Good to know you have that taken care of, Nan," the monk said, giving the nekomata a bow. "And I meant that you were kind as you would offer food to a gaki, without hesitation."

"It seemed right," Kazuya said. "Well then, when did that new place appear? I haven't heard anything about that, and there's usually lots of gossip about what's going on in this neighborhood."

The monk gestured to the hedges. "One could say that it has always been there, only the path has not been opened until today. Great changes have occurred in the world just a few hours ago. The opening of the path is a sign, one could say."

"So then demons are really going to be invading our world?" he asked, concerned about that. Was his mother going to be okay?

"They're already coming in," the monk said. Although now that he thought of it, this monk couldn't be anyone normal either. "I'm sorry, but I must ask that you keep away from the main shrine under my care for today. We were not expecting this opening either and must prepare. But starting tomorrow afternoon, come back and see what we can offer you. Especially as a summoner; what lies there will be of great value to you."

"All right," he said. "I'll just head back home with my dog then, and this gaki."

"But first, I have a feeling about you," the monk said, reaching into a pocket and pulling something out: two small apples that had strangely shimmering skin. Like, polished gold. "You are very close to someone, yes?"

"Yes," he said. At this point, he realized that a melody had been playing softly in his mind this whole time. It only now became something noticeable. It was calm, and something felt right about it.

"Times ahead will be turbulent," the monk warned. "Especially for you; you've already been noticed. This world has been in a good state of balance for many years, enough that the shrine back there was able to remain hidden. But the forces of law and chaos will be quick to take advantage of what has occurred today. The world's balance is already slipping, which could lead to war and tyranny. Would you like to have influence over what the future may bring? Someone kind like you could bring the world back in balance, back to peace for humanity."

This was a day that was radically changing his whole life, that was unquestionable. At the same time, the answer he wanted to give felt unquestionable too. "Yes, if I could keep this demonic invasion from harming others, I'd like to do something about it."

The old monk smiled. "Good, then take these. Should you eat one yourself, you will be marked as a special soul. People will listen to you, and believe you more easily. It will bring you many trials. Thus, should you give the other to your beloved to eat, she will be able to help and support you in these times. It may even save her soul's fate in time."

He didn't want to put Yuka in danger. But then again, she would be able to take care of herself. "All right, thank you."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," the monk said, then turned his attention to trimming the sprawling vines around this shrine.

"Will you still visit me, Kazuya?" Nan asked, stopping her cleaning to look up at him.

"Sure, I'd like that," he said, reaching down to scratch her head before heading back.

"Good," she said, purring.

As he didn't want to startle others, he recalled the gaki so it was just him and Pascal walking back home. He didn't see any more demons along the way. But, it felt like things had already changed. He set one apple in his bag, then ate the other one before he got back. It was crisp and sweet, some delicately fragrant juice coming from the flesh. While it was one of the better apples he'd tasted, he didn't notice anything particularly special beyond the oddly golden skin.

The evening went by as usual, Pascal keeping him company while he worked on school work. But as he was getting ready for bed, his comp on the table gave him an alert that he had a new message. It was about time he normally silenced it so such things didn't bother him while he slept. Since it might be from Yuka, he went ahead and opened it up to see what it was.

Not Yuka, but that Steven. 'Thank you for your thorough critique; I hadn't thought the interface would be a problem. However, that should be easily correctable and I'll have an updated version shortly. You're the first who installed and used this initial version to reply back, so it is very helpful. In the meantime, I am working on two updates: an automapper feature and an electronic item storage. I would appreciate your feedback on those as well, so I will send you what I have prepared now. They should be usable, but I would advise not placing anything valuable in the storage feature until we are certain it functions properly.'

"An automapper would help someone like Mom immensely," Kazuya said to himself. "And electronic item storage... damn, that would be revolutionary. Would help cut down on the weight of my school supplies." He downloaded the two updates, glad to help this guy out now. He could imagine that a full version of the item storage would be expensive on first release, so getting in as a tester now was a lucky break.

He messed around with the item storage before going to bed first. It worked like summoning and recalling the gaki. After activating the program, it would bring up a list of items in view of the computer's camera, which unfortunately was a lot in his room. But he picked out some pens, pencils, and papers since they were items he could quickly replace at the mall or even the academy supply store before drills tomorrow. Kazuya then tried a plastic box of paper clips. The storage listed the box of paper clips and forty-two paper clips.

After calling out three paper clips, he sent the box out again. But something odd happened. It produced the paper clip box on his desk, full of paper clips. But it still listed that he had thirty-nine paper clips in storage. He sent one of them out, thirty-eight paper clips. Then recalled it, thirty-nine paper clips. And nothing had changed about the box on the desk, not even when he called out ten clips from storage.

"That's a weird glitch," Kazuya said. "I wonder..." he called the box back into his storage. The box returned and his paper clip count went from twenty-nine to forty-two. And there were still those thirteen paper clips on the desk. "Whoa. Guess I'll never run out of paper clips now. Some jerks might pull off dumb things with that, though, so I should tell him."

He wrote a message back to Steven. 'I'm glad to help, and thanks for letting me test these. I'll do more tomorrow once I'm out of class, but I did some messing around with the item storage. Your interface is still problematic, but I figured it out having worked with the main program already. But the colors really need to be something where the text is legible; I could manage, but I'm sure it could give some people headaches. Also, ran into a glitch that seems to give me endless paper clips. I stored the box of them first, then called out some paper clips before calling out the box. But it still listed all the paper clips, and restored the number once I called the box back. It's an oddly useful glitch, but it could cause problems. Is there a way of sending you a log of my activity, or can you get that yourself?'

With that sent off, he shut off the sound to the comp and headed for bed. This had been one crazy day, but if what the monk said was right, it was only the start.


	2. No Longer a Drill

That night, he had a vivid dream. He had the other golden apple in hand, but nothing else besides his clothes. Not even his comp, which he found a little strange. It was his dream and he used that comp so much. And, this was a dream. Kazuya walked along wavy blue halls, making the mist swirl behind him. He felt like he was going somewhere, but wasn't sure where. Maybe to find Yuka? He wanted to find Yuka.

"Halt!" A wall suddenly appeared in his path, bearing a stern but nearly featureless face on it. It was like a death mask. The wall's lips moved as it spoke. "Those who wish to pass must speak their name. What is your name?"

"Kazuya," he replied. Although this was strange, he didn't feel worried.

"And you wish to establish who your soulmate is?" the wall asked him.

"Yes, do I need to speak her name?" he asked.

"Not yet," the wall said. "When you find her, speak her name. Before that, you must find two others who have been cast into these halls of fate. They will assist you in the future, but take heed: the balance of the world now lies in your hands and these two will seek to tip the balance in favor of those that sent them here. Know them to know the balances, then decide for yourself where the future of humanity lies."

"Wait, I'm deciding the future of humanity?" Kazuya asked. When he agreed to the old monk's offer, he'd done so thinking he'd help others. Not that he'd be making such a massive decision for the whole world.

"That is the meaning of accepting those golden apples," the wall said. "It is too late for you to go back now. And unless you wish to lose your beloved to the actions of fate, you will complete this rite of becoming soulmates with her."

He looked down at the golden apple left with him. It hadn't seemed that vital. But then, now that he was in this position... he ought to make the best of it he could. "All right, I understand. I'll look for the others chosen by fate, and for her."

"Good, then you may pass," the wall said as it vanished into the mist.

He continued on, with the dream awareness that he needed to keep moving. No indication of why, he just had to be moving. The hallways wound around, seeming like they should cross paths that he'd already walked over. Despite that, there was only one way to go.

Then he was stopped by something else: a large cross in his path. When he blinked, the white soul of what seemed to be a man was there, nailed onto the cross. That seemed awful to do to somebody. The wall's voice spoke to him. "This soul has been accepted as a sacrifice to God, to be honored by Him with powers beyond normal people. Speak his name."

Who was this? The white soul had no face, nothing that made it recognizable. But, there was music here. Kazuya closed his eyes and listened deeper to the song in his mind. Law... "Allen," he said.

"Then he is free to join you," the wall's voice said.

The cross disappeared and Allen's soul dropped to his knees as Kazuya looked at him again. "Huh? I'm being called?"

"Allen," Kazuya said, going forward and helping him to his feet.

"And you are Kazuya," he said, sound mystified that he knew that. "This is strange. Am I dreaming? Are we dreaming?"

"We're both dreaming together," Kazuya said. "Fate has brought us together."

"I see, then I am being called," Allen said, his soul flickering. "I wonder, what does God want of me?" He then vanished.

But there was a connection made on some level. Kazuya had a feeling that if he ran into Allen in the waking world, they'd recognize each other somehow. The melody of Law was fading now, so he moved on.

After winding about some more, he came across another white soul of a man. A horned demon had its foot on his back, seeming like a master subjugating a human. "This soul is weak, but seeks power that the demons are waiting to grant him. Call his name."

There was another song to this, sounding more primal than the vaulted song of Law. This was, Chaos. "Jin," Kazuya called.

That made the demon scuffle away through the wall. Jin's soul pushed himself onto his knees. "Damn, I, I won't be beaten down like this again. I..." he punched the floor.

"Jin, you don't have to be," Kazuya said, trying to help him up too.

Jin brushed him away. As a result he was more unsteady than Allen had been. "No, I'm not a kid, I can do things myself, Ka... Kazuya?" He looked at him, trying to get a grip on himself.

Nodding, he put a hand on Jin's shoulder to steady him. "We have been drawn together by fate; we'll see each other again."

"Fate? What kind of absurdity is that?" Then he clasped Kazuya's arm. "Huh, I've got a good feeling about you, somehow. I'll get stronger. you'll see. Right?"

"Right," he agreed, as Jin's soul was flickering too. And then he was gone as well.

He continued on, hoping that he'd run into Yuka next. After what seemed the right amount of wandering, he came across a door finally. There was no other way to go, so he entered. A warm humid air greeted him, along with the steady trickle of a small waterfall. The floor had changed to a dark rocky surface right in front of a hot spring pool.

And, there was a naked woman in there with her back to him at first. But that wasn't Yuka. She turned and smiled at him. "Hello Kazuya," she said, not even trying to cover herself.

It was that woman from the cafe, he realized. Yuriko. His tongue moved, but he stopped himself. He had a gut feeling that he did not want to say her name here.

She stood up and started coming towards him, water dripping from... he glanced aside to not look at her. "Do not be afraid. This too is fate. I will always be at your side."

"No," he said, and the dream world shattered.

His alarm was going off. And for once, he didn't feel like trying to drop back into his dreams again. She could still be there.

* * *

The sharp bangs of gunfire could be heard through his ear covers. Kazuya finished off his reloading action, something he didn't have to think of anymore. The target was moving this time, a human silhouette with rings denoting lethal and non-lethal damage zones. Aiming for non-lethal, he fired at the target's hips, three shots in all. They all hit within the target zone, although one was off from the way it was moving.

A buzzer sounded the end of his firing exercise. Flipping the safety on, he set the handgun down. That too was important to grading. He also made sure to step out of the firing range's booth before pulling his ear covers off. "Good improvement, Kazuya," the supervisor said, patting him with some papers as he walked by. "You have a sharp eye."

"Thanks, I've been working on it when I can," he said, nodding in acknowledgment.

"All right, now you have drills for sweeping a potentially dangerous area," his instructor said as he went into the next room, a meeting area outside the target range. "You're leading these two."

"Yes sir," he said. This was all practice for street cop work, although these drills were on the 'might not be needed' side. If a situation that was truly dangerous did come up, the local police district would call in a more highly trained team. But for his position, it might be that he was first on a scene.

These were familiar narrow winding halls with tiny rooms scattered everywhere. Over the course of his training, he'd been through them many times. It had been disorienting at first, with few clues on where they were in the drill area. Now he was familiar with them. Due to that, the complex layout seemed to be the ideal place to test the auto-mapper for Steven. He activated that before the drill got started, then took a second to check on his demons. There had been a lot more today just getting from his house to the academy. As a result, he now had a pixie along with the preta.

For this exercise, they were searching for a suspect who might be armed. There should be one of the other rookies moving or hiding out in here. Possibly others; at this point, they could have similar actors as civilians or allies of the suspect in these rooms too. As the squad leader this time, Kazuya was responsible for split-second decisions on what role those encountered were fulfilling. Even if it was one of his squad mates who made the decision, he'd be called out as well if something went wrong.

He glimpsed the shoes of someone under a desk. They were heeled shoes, more indicative of someone who didn't intend on a lot of running today. This time, there was a soft tune in his head. Maybe it was connected to a non-threat? "This is the police, who's in here?" Kazuya asked. "We don't mean you harm."

"What?" one of his squad mates asked, as normally they waited until they fully saw the person and spoke with them.

"Shh," he replied quickly. To him, the shoes were enough of an indication to treat this person as a civilian.

Once she crawled out from the desk, it was clear that this was an office worker in the academy. She had some training for active duty, but it might have been from years ago. She had her hands out in spite of not being asked to. "Sorry, I was hiding out from some punks that were barking orders everywhere."

"Are you injured?" he asked.

"No, thankfully." She even moved in front of her desk but not too close to him, very used to the procedure.

"About these punks, how many of them did you notice?"

"I saw just two in my panic, but I heard three distinct voices," she said. Usually a civilian would be more shaken and need to be calmed down before questioned like this. If they couldn't be calmed down quickly, getting them to safety or telling them to stay in place was the plan.

"And were they armed?"

She nodded. "Well one of them had a club and another seemed to have a taser, but that's all I noticed."

"Thank you, m'am," he said, then did a mental assessment of where this room was in relation to the exit. "Would you go back to hiding and stay until things are sorted out?"

"Sure," she said, giving him a bow before returning to her position under the desk.

Down one of the side halls, he spotted another pair of shoes from hiding under a desk. Those were either sneakers or boots judging from the heel, jarring with the office setting. In agreement, the tune in his head was more tense; there was a way to interpret it after all, if he had more chances like this to feel the music out. This actor was sloppy, leaving the taser out on the desk where he could see it from the doorway.

"Come out with your hands up," Kazuya ordered, keeping his pistol at ready. These weren't actual guns, more akin to laser tag mocks. Although, that would be an authentic taser, on the lowest setting.

"Hey, don't be so forceful," the guy said, coming out from under the desk as instructed. He wasn't dressed for office work either, most noticeably with the black armband over his jacket's sleeve. The gangs he was aware of used those bands, with colors, symbols, or positions, to indicate which gang or position they held. This black one didn't mean anything.

"What is your purpose here?" Kazuya asked, remaining firm with him. He wasn't the pictured suspect, but there was enough else to suspect him. When one of his hands started to drop, he was quick to add on, "Keep your hands up and move away from the desk."

"Geez, I'm just..." a male's scream in a nearby room cut him short, making him look that way and reach for where he should have a gun on patrol.

The tense music was stronger too. Kazuya glanced at his squadmates and called out, "This is no longer a drill, what's going on?"

"What...?" the officer monitoring them started to say.

"Monster!" one of the other actors shouted in fright, running out of his room and brushing past them.

Something bashed through the thin wall into the room Kazuya had confronted the first actor in. it was the top half of a teenaged boy and the bottom half of a young horse, his arms carrying a huge sledgehammer that pulled him forward in the force of the back swing. Although the actor was another rookie cop, he screamed as well and ran towards the wall in spite of there being nowhere to go from there.

"Calm down!" Kazuya ordered, running for the taser on the desk. As a practice drill, this might be the only actual weapon in here. Though there might be something that could be improvised. "Commander, it's a demon." He quickly shifted the taser to a higher setting.

The teen centaur snorted. "What do you expect to do with that toy, moron?" he said, the synthesized voice distinctive on the channel.

"What the hell do we do about a demon?!" the actor said, still panicked.

"You get out of here," Kazuya said, since he wouldn't be of help like this. He then struck the centaur with the taser as he was trying to lift his sledgehammer up for another swing. The demon yelped, then snarled and gnashed his teeth although the shock was slowing him down.

"Uh, leader, what do we do?" one of his squadmates said, trying to keep calm but barely managing it.

"Go in nearby rooms and grab something that could be used as a weapon, not these mocks," he said, moving back with the centaur stunned to call out his two demons. "Go together and beware of any other demons in here."

"Do you need backup, Kazuya?" the drill commander asked, his voice tense with worry.

"Yes, please get a crew with real weapons in here," he said. "And if you can see the centaur from there, you should be able to see any other demons about."

"Got it, we'll send a group to you asap," the commander said.

"Hah hah hah, trying to punch above your weight class?" Pixie teased when she came out and saw the young centaur getting a hold of his hammer again. "What a loser."

"Try laughing when you're squashed," the centaur said. This could get confusing with voices coming from the program and the drill line.

Glancing around this room again, Kazuya didn't spot anything right off that could be useful for long. He grabbed a glass paperweight and threw it at the centaur's head. It broken in half on hitting, but forced the centaur to drop his hammer (which made Pixie laugh again). As the demon was unable to wield his weapon well, a slash of claws from Gaki and another strike of the taser was enough to drop the centaur for good.

"What are you doing with those demons, Kazuya?" the commander asked.

"They're also my squadmates, sir," he replied, moving to glance into the other room. "I'm using the demon summoning program that was distributed yesterday."

"Go ahead with that, since it seems effective. We've spotted two more of the centaurs; rejoin with your squadmates, the human ones, and start moving back towards the entrance. Be sure to pick up the secretary on your way."

"Yes sir. Are there any more actors in here?" There was a golf club in the next room; it was an odd item to be left in the training area, but Kazuya grabbed it in case the taser's battery got tapped out.

"No, just the four. Two of them are already out of the training zone, she's still hiding, and the last joined your squad."

"Got it." He retreated back out the doorway he'd come in through, keeping a eye out until the three others returned to him. "We're pulling back to the entrance, stay wary."

A crash from another broken wall emphasized his orders. The three nodded and fell into place with him. When they came back to the secretary, she did as well, keeping to the center as she wasn't prepared to fight as they were. As they got close to the hall with the entrance, the commander spoke up. "One of the centaurs has come out in that hall and will spot you if you come around the corner. He's already watching that way, so act as though he's expecting you."

If they didn't show, it might come after them. Kazuya quickly reviewed who he had with him. His demons would stay with him, but they were small ones that might be taken out quickly by a centaur. Of the humans, the secretary had to get out of here as the least ready. He also didn't want to keep around the one who had questioned him on the quick assessments. While it was reasonable, he'd get lectured in a normal drill for doing so. Of the two left, the actor was a brawny man who'd not bothered with an improvised weapon.

"You," he said, pointing out the actor, "Stick with me, we'll draw the centaur's attention away. You three, slip out behind us through the exit as quickly as you can. Once you're through, we'll drop back to limit opportunities of attack to the third centaur around."

Once they confirmed his plan, Kazuya and the actor moved ahead to put it into action. The centaur snorted smugly on seeing them; it was another male teen centaur, also clumsily wielding a sledgehammer. "This base is ours!" he bellowed, bringing up the hammer and stamping his hooves in ready for a charge down the hall.

"Pixie, bait out his attack early," Kazuya ordered quietly, hoping that she got the idea.

"Mmm, okay!" She flew ahead as the centaur charged and blew a raspberry at him.

For a brief moment, a glare showed on the centaur's face before he swung the hammer at Pixie. She was easily able to dart out of the way when he was committed to the attack, sending his hammer into the wall nearby. It was enough that the centaur stumbled and crashed onto the floor. Immediately, the actor kicked at the centaur's arm to disarm him and grab the hammer away. But the sledgehammer was too much even for him; he had to weakly swing it into the new hole in the wall to get it away.

"You're going to pay for that!" the centaur shouted, his actual voice a distorted screaming mix of a human and horse. But the centaur was in no position to be fighting well fallen over; he had to roll his horse body around to get all four hooves on the ground first.

By that time, Kazuya got in an overhead swing of the golf club; these halls were too narrow for any other swinging of it. The door had shut behind them. He waved the actor back after a follow-up punch, getting him to drop back as planned. On the other hand, Gaki remained, swiping at the centaur's legs as best he could with his bone-thin arms. The centaur kicked him away; Gaki hung in there, backing up until Pixie could heal him.

"May I have your mock gun?" the actor asked, holding his hand out.

Kazuya nodded and passed it over. His fellow rookie then hurled the mock gun at the centaur; it had some weight to it to match an actual handgun. And that just happened to be enough to defeat the centaur. "Good one," Kazuya said, since they seemed to be clear for the moment.

"You've got some guts yourself," he said. "I'd be scared to hell right now if you didn't take charge."

"It's what we're meant to do," he said, although he couldn't deny being afraid himself. These were stronger demons than the ghosts and odd fairies he'd encountered on the streets this morning.

When the back-up came, it was three more experienced officers, wearing fully body armor rather than the partials that they were using for drills. "You can drop back," the one in charge of this squad said to the actor. "We have the rest of the building secure. Kazuya, would you stick with us to track down the last centaur? We have no experience with these demons."

"Yes sir," he said as his peer hurried back to the still open exit. "I can communicate with them through the program and headset I have, but the centaurs have been too aggressive to negotiate with."

The new squad leader nodded. "Good to know. Tell us if it says anything worrisome."

"Yes sir," he said, then fell in place and moved carefully ahead with them to clear the damaged areas once again.

Given that the other cops had actual weapons, the third centaur was easily dispatched. The commander then asked them to retrieve the dropped weapon for examination, something that took two of them to get back to the rest of the building. The teen centaurs might have been scrawny and barely able to handle the sledgehammers, but they clearly had more strength than they appeared to wield them at all.

Once back in the meeting area, Kazuya recalled his demons and glanced at the clock. Just past twelve. If he hurried, he would make it to the station to pick up Yuka. But this debriefing would definitely take longer than normal. He had a moment, so he opened up his comp to send Yuka a message. However, there was a general message that deflated his hopes. The scheduled train runs had been canceled after all. She wouldn't be coming today.

There must have been a lot of outrage over the announcement, as comments had been disabled for it. While that anger was justified, he felt concern about Yuka most of all. He went ahead and gave her a message, saying, 'Just heard about the trains not running today. Are you okay? I've been worried about you and want to hug you.'

He felt a tap on his shoulder after sending it. Biting his tongue to keep silent, Kazuya glanced over the instructor (discussing matters with the older cops), then glanced back. For some reason, the old monk that he had met yesterday was there. He was out of place here with the police recruits and officers. And yet, the supplies officer to the side hadn't noticed the old man even though he should be in full sight of her.

"You will need to speak the truth about the music soon" the old monk whispered to him. "No matter how you may feel about it, it is important to gaining someone's full trust."

The suggestion made him feel so nervous it nearly made him sick. "I can't do that," he whispered. Oddly enough, his fellow students next to him didn't react at all. "It's not normal, I..."

"If you wish to keep the peace and defend others, it will be more important that you are honest with your abilities to your superiors," the old monk said. And then he completely vanished, stepping to the other side and not making it to the other edge of Kazuya's sight.

There was a shift that he noticed then, like he could be noticed again for talking. Kazuya took a deep breath, considering this. As much as he didn't want to be shamed on being odd, there was a feeling that the old monk was right. But who was he? There was something bizarre about that old monk. Perhaps about himself too, no matter how he tried to be normal.

"Kazuya?" the instructor said as he came over.

"Yes sir?" he asked, returning to his normal calm for dealing with these proceedings.

"Excellent work in there," he said, giving a nod of approval. "Even before it turned dangerous, albeit your assessment seemed rather quick."

"It was their shoes, sir," he said. "She had inappropriate footwear to getting in a fight while he had boots ill-fitted to the scenario. And he left the taser out in full view."

"Good, then it was quick for the right reasons. But enough of that." He then passed over three cards. "This is your gun license; keep it on you at all times, even when you are not armed. You've also been given a special exemption to be equipped with one right away, so speak to the supplies officer before leaving. Later on, you also need to go by the survival store in the underground mall to pick up body armor like those officers have and a melee-weapon of your choice. This card is for that purchase, and only that purchase, so make your choices wisely."

"Yes sir," he said, surprised at this. Why the survival store? There was an armory in the police station for use to all on-duty policemen.

"You also need this last card to get into the police station to meet with the chief," the instructor said. "She was informed of what was going on and immediately wanted to meet with you. Please go as soon as you pick up a gun and bullet case. You're dismissed for that."

"Got it, sir," he said. And a meeting with the chief? He had a hunch that it would be what the old monk had warned him about. He'd technically met her at his swearing in ceremony earlier this year, but that was it.

The supplies officer already had his weapon and bullets ready for him. He offered to turn the taser back in, but she said to keep it since it was effective against demons. While it was more typical for his rank to be issued a taser instead of a gun, it still felt odd. Still, it would be better to be prepared and fully equipped, so he thanked her and put the two weapons in place on his work belt. The bullets could be put into electronic storage once he had the gun loaded; that didn't take long.

Even better, this should work like the paper clips from last night. Steven had sent him a reply this morning, acknowledging the bug and noting that so far, it was only affecting items that were inside a container and only if both the item and container were non-organic materials. It meant that the paper clips, and these bullets now, were effectively infinite as long as he made sure to bring out and recall the containers regularly. But it wouldn't work for the pet food he had. While Steven said that he had an idea of what was going on, he was going to keep it as it was (although he was disappointed it wasn't working with organics, because then food shortages could be effectively overcome).

Kazuya still felt nervous as he left the training facility, especially as he passed by the metal detectors. They always beeped as he went by due to his comp, but the security officer usually on duty was used to that. As such, he got waved through as usual and left the building with his new equipment. He made a note to see about the survival shop later, then hurried over to the police station next door.

There was higher security getting in today, but he got passed through once they confirmed the equipment he was meant to have. Kazuya had to use the new security card to get into the area of the chief's office. In here, there was a lot of activity. Snatches of conversation showed that they were monitoring the demon invasion in the Kichijoji district, but that communications were weakening due to a satellite blackout and cell towers getting attacked. He would have liked to hear more of those meetings, but duty stated that he had to go immediately to the chief's office upon being called there.

Of course, he had to wait once he got there. He could hear some talk from a nearby office that had its door partly opened. "It hasn't been that long since you assigned me to look into this thing."

"You keep boasting that you can crack into any code, viral or programming," someone else said.

"Right, but give me time for this. I've actually heard of this Steven guy before; he was involved with the Echo Telecommunications Terminal Project. His coding work has always been incredible to examine, but this is... well it's on a whole other level from his old stuff. It hasn't even been a day, but he's already got two updates put out! At least this second one made the HUD easier on the eyes, though the font could stand to be larger."

It had to be about the summoning program... which had changed to a white text on black background when he dared to take a moment to peek at it. That should help, and he had a secondary input so he didn't feel like a nag for picking on that one element to change again. At least Steven was courteous in his correspondence; Kazuya hoped he was sincere in it.

As he was shutting the comp's lid, he was called into the chief's office. She was away from her desk at the moment, looking over a markerboard with notes written all over it. Some people said she didn't seem like much of a police chief as she dressed in a feminine manner and kept her black hair up in a bun. Yet even those people admitted that once she started talking, her mannerisms and presence made it clear that she was in charge.

Kazuya bowed to her; she acknowledged him with a bow of her head. "Officer Kazuya, you've been able to keep yourself together remarkably well in today's emergency. I've just reviewed some of the security footage from the training facility. You reacted to the demons like you've dealt with them many times before."

"I haven't, sir, not since before yesterday," he admitted. "But I find it little different than the regular conflicts we train for. You have to keep yourself calm and collected to deal with the demons."

She twirled the marker in her hand, a thoughtful look on her face. "I see. That is how we should be handling this, but many in our force find the shock of actually encountering demons too much to take calmly and rationally. How did you first encounter the demons?"

Be honest, all right. "It was at the old shrine in the park late afternoon yesterday, the gaki I recruited and a nekomata. At the time, it all felt natural in that setting. The gaki was a spirit you'd expect to find at a shrine like that, and I had known the nekomata to be an old calico cat with a long tail before then. Looking back on it, it does seem strange. It might be that relatively peaceful first meeting has kept me calm in the face of more aggressive demons like the centaurs."

"That could be, but you've also got the demons following your commands," the chief said. "We have been aware of the free summoning program that went out. So far, those who've reported downloading the program are teenagers who think it might be fun, paranoid individuals who believe their conspiracy theories are proven right, and some who are simply crazy. You don't fit any of those molds. Did something that happened when you visited the shrine yesterday convince you to accept it as real? Given what's going on, it would be reasonable for spirits to be emerging."

She had always seemed like a rational woman herself. But then, these were strange times and the rational thing to do was actually start reexamining what was irrational. "I did speak with an old monk who claimed to be working at a second shrine that hadn't been in the area the day before," Kazuya said. "But I had already downloaded the program and was messing around with it when I met him."

"Then what led you to accept the download?" she asked.

"I..." Despite the nearly knee-jerk reaction to cover it up, he caught himself from doing so. Having the trust of the police chief would be valuable. "This isn't something I usually disclose, but I hear music in my mind sometimes. It's alerted me to important events in my life, like deciding on this career path and knowing when my father died before anyone told me. Yesterday, I heard an ominous version in the middle of the afternoon, and then a more supportive tune when I got the message about the demon summoning program. That's why I accepted it. I don't fully understand it, but it has been occurring more frequently today and yesterday."

"Psychic abilities are nothing to be ashamed of," the chief said, not skeptical at all. "We employ a few psychics in our force."

"We do?" he asked, confused some but relieved she accepted it.

The chief nodded. "All of them have reported that their abilities have sharpened or changed within the last twenty-four hours. Whatever led to demons appearing in large numbers has also empowered them, presumably yourself as well. Did this music have any influence over your snap judgments in the drill area just now?"

"Some, although it became more clear to me what some of it means," he said. "Being able to compare the music with context clues I've been trained to notice has been a help. Like with the secretary, I could tell by her shoes that she was unlikely to be an aggressor and the music seemed to fit that. I mean, I've never worn high heeled shoes, but my girlfriend says if you get in trouble and that's what you're wearing, you're better off taking them off and whacking the perpetrator with them."

She chuckled at that. "Your girlfriend must be quite an interesting woman."

"That she is," he said, smiling fondly. But was she in trouble now?

"That aside, Kazuya," she took on a more authoritative air, "you're a rookie in our force, but you're already used to the demon summoning program and you have proven more capable of keeping your cool in the face of demons. Therefore, I am trusting you with an important assignment. I am aware that you were to have a few days off after today, but I must cancel that. The situation in Tokyo must be dealt with quickly so we can assure the people of their safety."

"Yes sir," he said, taking a more serious tone himself. And there was the music, something like what he heard around the old man. "What would you have me do?"

"I need you to assess the situation in the streets directly. We will be encouraging others in our force to try out the summoning program and find ways to defeat the demons. As you are ahead of us in that regards, you will go out into the thick of things and report what you find: the spread of demons, how civilians are handling the situation, anything unusual like that second shrine you saw yesterday. I would advise that you help people whenever you can, to keep up their trust in the police force even as we are also coming to terms with these events."

"Yes sir, I understand," he said. They could get a lot of information from city cameras and larger networks, but having first-hand accounts from one of their own would show things they couldn't see as well on a larger scale.

"Good," she said. "For this work, I am trusting you to operate independently. As for general orders, scout out the Kichijoji district today, then attempt to cross into other districts afterward. We are most concerned about the hospital and the Echo Communications Building in our district. Give those two priority. The hospital is obvious and our tech workers seem to think that there's a valuable asset within Echo called a terminal there. It should be the results of instantaneous matter transferal research that had been going on there."

"Like teleporters?" he asked, surprised to hear of it. "Did they have them working?"

"Apparently so," she said, taking this like she had hearing about his odd music. "If it is true, we need to keep that information secure. We don't want Gotou's forces to clamp down on our every means of movement. Already, we are having difficulties keeping as a neutral force. They've repeatedly demanded our full cooperation despite oppressing the citizens of Japan. Other stations have simply sworn allegiance to him, or even the Americans now in the city; we've recently had the militia requisition much of our gear and supplies for not doing the same. Otherwise, they claim they would call more powerful demons onto our streets and let them do as they pleased."

"Does that mean they're responsible for this demon invasion now?" Kazuya asked. That was not going to win Gotou any favor, just fearful obedience or enraged defiance.

"Yes, their claims do appear to be true," she said.

The police chief then gave him a lot of other information that the force was aware of, on various factors that could affect his scouting. For a lot of it, he couldn't speak of the information freely with civilians. They had evidence that the Americans were considering nuclear options against Japan, although the reasoning behind the sudden escalation was suspect. As long as they had troops here, it shouldn't occur. But if he noticed the Americans abruptly leaving, that would be a dire sign.

As for Gotou's forces, they were truly making everything more difficult than it had to be. There was no indication that they meant to lift the blockades or respond to international criticism. They were trying to win over the loyalty of the police by offering better pay should they swear allegiance to the militia. But, they were doing that by cutting funds to groups that didn't, even those like Kichijoji who didn't state any opposition either. The chief here wanted to focus on protecting the people instead of completely policing their lives, something Kazuya could agree with.

And there was something else the militia was doing, something that made him personally afraid: they were kidnapping any girls or women named Yuka. The stated reason was that a group trying to sabotage Gotou's stolen authority was supposedly led by someone named Yuka. The chief didn't have any further information on the reactionary group, but she told him to use his own judgment should he encounter them.

"Lastly, don't put yourself in unnecessary danger on this assignment," the chief said. "If you have to pull out of a situation for your safety or that of others, go ahead and do so. We do need people out on the front lines, so to speak, but we don't wish to lose those who can effectively fight back against the demons."

"Yes sir," he said.

It was a lot to take in as he walked home, even with the disruptions of demons trying to fight him. There had always been a sense, to him, that Gotou's coup was doing far more harm than good. Putting demons into the equation, it was far worse than he had thought. Would his mother be okay while he left to go investigate the whole city? Her previously playful beliefs would be serious now and could protect her from demons. However, she had a lot more to worry about than just demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's sure to be mentioned, so I do know of the names used for the Law and Chaos Heroes in one of the artbooks. I have reasons behind naming them Allen and Jin here, though, so it's intentional. And a small cultural note about the shrine cat Nan: she's based on a more traditional nekomata than the catgirls that the SMT games use. It's a belief that a regular cat with a long tail can become a nekomata when the end of its tail splits on growing old. That's why Kazuya thinks it's natural for Nan to have turned into one.


	3. Emergency Measures

Yuka hadn't replied by the time he got back home. "Hey Mom, the trains aren't running today," he called. "Yuka's not going to be able to make it."

"Oh, that's terrible," she said, setting something down in the kitchen. "Is she all right?"

"I don't know, I haven't heard from her today," he said. There was an envelope on the table, something addressed to him but not stamped. "What's this?"

"Someone just delivered that, said to make sure it got to you," his mother said, coming out of the kitchen. "I think it's from the school, they had one of the academy blazers on."

"I wasn't expecting anything," he said, opening it up.

There were two things inside: a matchbox for a bar called Deja Blue and a small note. 'Kaz, things are changing far more rapidly than we anticipated. I'm sorry, but I have to go into hiding. I have a hunch, though, or maybe I just expect you to come looking for me when I'm in trouble. Keep this matchbox and if you get the chance, show it to the bartender in that bar in Shinjuku's underground mall. The staff working there will be able to direct you to me. Please be careful; what's happening is like nothing humanity has ever experienced before. I just wish it could have come later, once we were married and I had the chance to tell you everything. Love, Yuka.'

"It's from Yuka, actually," Kazuya said, stunned at the note. "What's going on with her? Something is wrong."

"What's happened?" his mother said, coming over and putting an arm around him.

"Sounds like she's somewhere in Shinjuku." At least the chief's orders would let him check in on her and still be on assignment. "And, I got special orders from the chief today. She wants me to start checking out how things are across the city; I can't tell you everything, but it has to do with the demons. While that does give good reason to go to Shinjuku, there's no telling when I'll be able to come back home. Sorry, Mom."

"It's okay, dear, I can take care of myself for a while," she said warmly, smiling at him although she was also upset on hearing Yuka was in trouble too. "Why don't you take Pascal with you? He should help, at least with keeping you safe." Pascal barked at this.

"Shouldn't he stay here with you?" he asked. "There's demons in the world now. Even if you stay inside, it might not be safe."

"I know how to keep bad spirits out of a home," she said. "I'm sure I can lock down this place to their entry. But you're going out there where the demons are wandering. I've seen pictures and videos already, people are running into strange creatures everywhere in Japan. You should take him with you."

"Okay, but you better make sure to seal up this place well." He hugged her. "Thanks, Mom. I'll come back home with her safe when I can."

"Good, I know you will." She patted his back, then tugged at him. "At least stay around for lunch, and take some water for you both."

"All right." They had some sandwiches and soup, then she said goodbye to him while starting up her protection crafting. Those little oddities was invaluable now; Kazuya hoped they would work.

The militia guards were standing at every street crossing at the edge of their district; Kazuya had seen them there this whole time. He took Pascal over to the underground mall. The dog had the right kind of harness for the building codes. As long as he kept the leash short, they shouldn't bother him about having his dog along. And if he got in trouble, there was potentially the gaki and pixie he could call on.

He hadn't looked into the survivalist's store before now, but it seemed like a good place to look for gear. Today, the mall was much quieter than before. It was almost eerie. At his side, Pascal sniffed around, watchful. The dog didn't seem concerned yet. In the survivalist store, there were a group of older men chatting at the counter.

"I kept telling folks that something like this was bound to happen," the clerk behind the counter said. "That the world would change irrevocably. But they only believe me now when it's happened."

"It was obvious trouble was brewing when Gotou started making his moves to take over," one of the others said. "But I don't think anybody expected demons. I ran into some squeaky little flying things on the way here and they cut my arm with nothing more than a bit of wind."

There were a number of things that could have been, Kazuya thought. He'd run into a pixie, two different brownies, and a few ghosts just getting here. Pascal was being helpful, since he could scare some of them off with barking. And the gun was already being useful, since he was able to use that to defeat them when they didn't want to talk at all. The demon summoning program indicated that an Abyss Moon was strong and that would make it difficult to speak with them. It was predicted to start waning in a couple minutes, though.

He found an armored vest and leggings that looked like they were police-issue, at least to that standard. He was already used to wearing them from the drill sessions, although he wondered where the owner had gotten these. However, the weapons were kept locked up in a cabinet against the wall. No guns, although there were a number of knives and a pair of tonfa.

Knives had always seemed dangerous to fight with, but he did have some experience from high school with the tonfa. "Excuse me, could I see one of these?"

"Sure thing, young man," he said, getting a ring of keys from the counter. "You're in good time too. Before long, everyone's going to want protection."

Pascal wagged his tail then. "I've got my dog, but I don't want to leave everything to him," Kazuya said.

The shopkeeper smiled at that. "So what are you thinking of?"

"The tonfa, I know how to fight with them," he said. "Might be a little harder with my comp now, but this thing is tough as brick."

"Oh yeah, you've got one of the good models," one of the guys still at the counter said. "I heard that you can run them over with a fully loaded dump truck and they'll still run in some capacity."

He nodded. "Waterproof and shockproof too, and the temperature mods work great. You have to really try to break one of these."

The shopkeeper got out the tonfas as requested. "These are usually tough to break too, an old classic. You remember how to equip them?"

"Of course," he said, getting one on his right arm easily. But getting one on his left, where the comp was, took a bit more fussing to get secure. He held the grip and found it comfortable. "I just need to step over there to see how they swing, so I don't go breaking anything of yours."

"Sure, but stay behind the red tape there," the shopkeeper said. Kazuya did as asked and tried out some of the moves he recalled. "Those seem to be fit for you. Interested?"

"Sure, and I've got a card from the police chief for this and some body armor," he said, handing over the card for the shop. This was a big investment at this time, but defeating demons granted him some yen. Was it some kind of incentive from Steven, or were the demons really carrying money with them?

"Ah, so you're the one," he said, looking over the card. "There's a good discount in this deal and I can make sure you're outfitted with official gear. As you have a dog, I can get you an armored vest for him too." Once the deal was made, he added, "Take care of your gear and your dog now."

Kazuya nodded and slipped the armor pieces on. Although it had been a while since he'd served, Pascal cooperated with putting the vest on him. The tonfas could be set in his bag until he left the mall. Thankfully, nobody gave him a second glance for having padded armor on himself and his dog. A few of them were also wearing protective gear, just in case. He also decided to pick up some pain relievers and other first aid supplies. In these times especially, being prepared was better than not.

With that done, he headed out of the mall. He could tell from the racket down the street that a fight had broken out at the train station, perhaps a protest over the broken promise. He didn't like it, but also didn't want to make trouble for the time being. Instead, he headed back down to the shrine. It was after noon, so he should be able to speak to the monk again and see what that new shrine was about.

Nan was sitting outside the shrine. "Good timing, we could use some help," she said. "There's a demon causing trouble at the main shrine. The monk's locked the door, but it's causing such a racket. Would you care to help me drive it off?"

"Sure, I'll help," he said. He summoned out the gaki and pixie. "Come on, we've got something to take care of."

"Mmhmm, got it!" Pixie said cheerily.

"Good, gaki help," the gaki said, scrambling after the rest of them down the hedge-lined path.

Something about coming down here made things seem different. Perhaps this was in some other kind of realm, hidden until whatever changed in the world yesterday? It was like he wasn't in Tokyo anymore by the time he exited the hedges. The shrine back here was in much better shape than the one by the street. More importantly, there was a strange bristly boar that stomped its foot in front of the shut door. It rushed over to pound on the door with its head.

The door shuddered, so this was a creature of some sustainable strength. The demon summoning program indicated that it was a demon, a minor beast simply called a boar. As it was low in stance, he reached for his gun. "Okay, let's stop this thing."

"Yes, yes, gaki can!" It leapt forward and swiped at it, getting the demon boar's attention. It snorted and wheeled around to face them. Pascal barked and tried to intimidate it, but the boar stamped its foot down. It lowered its head and rushed at Kazuya with tusks that seemed to be bladed. In a flash, Pascal got in front of him and took the blow instead.

"Pascal!" Kazuya called in alarm as the dog yelped in pain. Kazuya fired at the boar, ignoring the brief ringing in his ear as he didn't have headphones on, just the headset. Nan slashed at the boar's side in a blurry motion of paws, cutting through the demon's sides worse than it had just gored Pascal. However, the boar still kept on its feet, snorting and starting to aim for Nan. Kazuya fired again, three more times, angered at what it had done. When it finally squealed on realizing it was dead, he almost felt a sense of relief.

However, Pascal was in really bad shape, bleeding badly in spite of his vest. He whined and looked up to him, not sure what to do. Pixie was trying to heal him, but something about the wound didn't work with her Dia. "Oops, this is too deep already."

"Pascal," Kazuya said, his throat tensing up. Would this kill him?

"Oo, I'm not sure he could be healed up like us," Nan said, lowering her ears.

The door opened then and the old monk was there. "Bring him in here," he said hurriedly. "There's something we can do to save him, but it must be done quick."

"Yes," Kazuya said, carefully picking up Pascal and trying not to hurt him more. The dog trembled in his arm; he was heavy but at that moment, Kazuya didn't notice.

He was led to a strange room, filled with devices plucked right out of a cheesy science fiction movie. There was a man there who quickly saw how bad things were. "This isn't standard procedure, but please put your dog in that circle," he said. "And, do you mind using your gaki to fix him up? It will heal the dog completely, make him stronger too."

What were they doing. But at the risk of losing Pascal, Kazuya didn't much care for how he got saved. "Uh, sure, you fine with that gaki?" he asked as he set Pascal down.

"Yes, yes, gaki knows gaki not strong," it said, creeping as quickly as it could with its weird gait towards a nearby circle. "Good master, kind master, help master. Yes, good."

"Thanks," he said. But then large glass tubes dropped down over the two circles. "What are you doing?"

The man who'd been here was hurriedly working with a keyboard, activating the whole device. Crackles and hisses came from all around the room. Pixie had gone over to watch the workings with eager curiosity. "This is a Heretic Mansion where demons are fused together," the old monk said. "I can normally heal wounds of others, but in an untouched animal like this dog, I cannot save him from such a grave wound."

His head was whirling, so he put his hand there. "Wait, fusing… you're fusing my dog with the gaki?"

"It's going to work out just fine," the person doing the fusing said.

"It's the only way to save him," the monk said, trying to comfort him.

This was so much to take in at once. The large glass tubes were filled up with strange liquid that dissolved both Pascal and the gaki. Was this really going to work? The circle in the center shifted, making strange characters racing around the edges. The liquid drained and descended as mist over the center circle. Moments later, something materialized in the mist. It wasn't a husky, nor was it a gaki.

It was a large three-headed dog with a serpent-like tail and white fur. "I am Cerebus, I am at your command," he said. Then his scaled tail waved like it was wagging. "Master, thank you."

"Pascal?" Kazuya asked, staring at him.

He came right over and nuzzled his hand. "I will keep protecting you, as is my duty."

It was still his dog, even if he was also Cerebus now. Kazuya smiled in relief. "Yes, thank you. And, thanks to you both. Although, I'm surprised you can do something like that."

"It's one of the services of this shrine," the old monk said. "I also provide healing to any who need it. Feel free to stop by anytime."

"I'm actually surprised by this too," the man running the fusion service said. "I figured he would come out as some form of canine, but I expected it'd be more like a normal breed, as he had been. He must be greatly loyal to you to become such a powerful demon from that. Good thing too, as a novice summoner would not be capable of controlling something like Cerebus so soon. But since he has the personality of your dog, you'll be fine as long as you can keep up the magnetite cost."

"How do I do that?" Kazuya asked, flipping open his comp to check. He still seemed to have a good stock, actually higher than yesterday. But Cerebus did have a far higher summoning and maintenance cost than gaki. "The program I'm using didn't explain magnetite much, other than it was a resource you needed."

"Does this program keep an average level of magnetite tracked?" the monk asked, in the way of someone clueless with computer technology.

"I'm not sure, but it's been within a hundred of the number here," Kazuya said, pointing out the MAG store. "Although I've only had the gaki and pixie so far, they don't take much."

He frowned at it a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Well now, if this is about your average, you should be fine. Magnetite is a type of energy that humans produce out of emotions and demons consume to remain within our world. It varies from person to person how much magnetite they can actually produce, and it tends to grow as one summons demons and performs magic. You really do have good promise, as I suspected."

"So they eat emotions?" Kazuya wasn't sure if he should be disturbed by this or not.

"Not directly, it's difficult to explain without a lot of study," the old monk said. "It's like, the emotions are fire and magnetite is the heat it produces. As long as you keep your mind, body, and soul in good shape, you'll continually have that fire and be able to support the demons who work with you."

"I'll take that as an explanation for now," he said. "It's good to know that you're here, but I was mainly dropping by to check up from yesterday. I'm actually trying to find a way to leave the district and get to Shinjuku."

"If that's the case, you might try the Echo Telecommunications Building," the heretic mansion owner said. "I know that may sound strange, but they were working on a technology that could help you do just that. I did some work with them; they had some great people."

"Right now, all we have is this place and my healing station," the monk said. "Also, you may find the entrance to this place in other locations. We can only return you to where you entered, though. This shrine does not exist in the same way that the city you live in does."

"I had a feeling it was that," Kazuya said. "Thanks, I'll see about Echo then. And how about you Nan?"

She curled her tail on being acknowledged. "I thought I had things handled, but it appears I should call upon some other spirits to prevent a repeat of what just happened. I always knew it was my duty to look after my home shrine, so it's no bother to me to take up the duty of guarding the entrance to this place too."

"We're thankful for your assistance," the old monk said with a smile. "I should know a few spirits who would get along with you for that purpose."

"Excellent, I would like some minions of my own," Nan said.

"I'll leave you to that then," Kazuya said, smiling at them. "Come on Pascal."

"Yes, let's find Yuka," he said, wagging his tail again.

Since he had Cerebus and Pixie, Kazuya didn't think he needed other demons for now. Those that were in the streets here were a lot weaker than Pascal now. He did try to speak with a few to get the hang of what the program called negotiations. As long as he could guess what the demon's personality was like, he found it fairly easy to bargain them out of a battle. Some of them would even give gifts if they were impressed enough. Other pixies seemed happy to see another pixie with him and tended to be extra generous as long as he agreed to take good care of her.

The Echo building turned out to be part of the lockdown too. "Insert ID card," a message from a security box droned. "Insert ID card'.

"Maybe there's a side door or something," he said to himself. Or if it came down to it, a window to break. But he really didn't want to do that if there was a less violent way.

"Hold it!" someone called in an authoritative voice. It was some of the militia officers. While the one speaking to him didn't have a shield, the others were decked out in full riot gear. "You're Kazuya from the police academy, aren't you?"

"Yes, what's the problem?" he asked. Pascal moved into a position to defend him better.

"You're under arrest for treason and conspiring with insurgent forces," he said, bringing out a gun and aiming it at his head. "Come with us immediately."

Weren't they the insurgents? Pascal growled, but Kazuya nudged him to stop. In this case, he didn't want to pick a fight with the militia. Raising his hands, he said, "Okay, I'm sure the charges are false, but I'll cooperate."

"Good, we don't want more trouble. Call off your..." he hesitated, looking down at Pascal's tail. "Uh, dog, and fairy."

"Sorry, Pascal, we don't want trouble now," he said, moving and making sure the officer could keep his eyes on his hands while he recalled Pascal and Pixie.

"Be safe, be good," Pascal said, worried about him as he was called back. Kazuya didn't like this, but he felt like the officer would shoot if he tried to run or fight.

Strangely, they took him to the locked down hospital instead of the police station. Was this where the militia was basing themselves here? He was sat down in an exam room for immediate questioning; the usual medical equipment had been pushed against a wall. "We have uncovered that you are in contact with the leader of the most pernicious rebel group, a woman we know only as Yuka," the interrogation officer said.

Then that was real. But his Yuka being a rebel? It almost made sense as she'd always had an adventurous streak. When he was in middle school, she'd convinced him a few times to go explore places they weren't supposed to go. But she was usually law-abiding even back then. "May I speak with a lawyer?" Kazuya asked. "As my civil right."

"No," the officer said. "How are you connected to Yuka?"

"My fiancé is named Yuka," he said. "But it's a common name, so I don't think we mean the same Yuka."

"Liar!" The officer punched him in the face. "We've been keeping a watch on these streets. We saw someone from the rebel group drop something off at your house. What was it?"

Although his nose was probably bleeding, Kazuya shook his head. "I want to speak with a lawyer before I say anything more. This is not proper police procedure, it's not legal." Which got him punched again, a few more times while he refused to cooperate. Still, he kept firm with not saying anything. Eventually, the interrogation officer gave up and sent him off to be locked up.

Was it really his Yuka that they were looking for?

As this was the hospital, he got taken to a patient's room that had newly installed prison bars across the door. There was someone else in the room too, a high school student wearing an unfamiliar blue and white uniform. He was crouched down on the floor with his head on his knees. As soon as Kazuya was pushed across the threshold, music entered his mind. It was strong this time, a melody he'd heard before. That was Law, so this was… the barred gate slammed shut behind him, but Kazuya waited for the officer to walk away before going to the student. "Allen?" he asked.

"Hmm?" He sounded half asleep and briefly tightened his grip on himself. Then he lifted his head, his eyes bleary. He blinked, then came alert immediately. "Huh, wait… Kazuya?"

He nodded. "Yes, I met you in my dream last night."

Allen rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I remember that too. But..." he looked again and was soon on his feet. "Oh, you're hurt."

"They didn't like me keeping quiet," he said. "It's okay, I have some aspirin with me."

"Wait a moment, I..." he seemed unsure, then nodded with some internal decision. "I think I can do something for you, if I..." he placed his hands over Kazuya's eyes and mumbled to himself.

And his hand got a warm glow to it, one that soaked into the wounds and numbed the pain he felt. When Allen was done, Kazuya found that there was no blood left on his face. Even a stain that he'd gotten from carrying Pascal was nearly removed. "Wow, that's incredible," he said, rubbing his nose. Everything seemed just fine; it was more effective than Pixie's Dia even though it seemed like the same spell.

"Oh my goodness, this is real," Allen said, in shock himself as he put his hands over his face. "It's not a dream, this is all really happening! How could I...?"

"What happened?" Kazuya asked gently, trying to not be intimidating.

Allen dropped his hands, his eyes looking both awed and bewildered. "I was speaking with an angel just now. He said that I had been chosen to help people in this time of turmoil, when all of humanity is on trial. Healing, I didn't think someone like me could really do it. But you look just fine now, not even a bruise. Amazing, the angel, he really granted me powers."

"That's great, although I don't want to stick around," he said. "Will you help me if I break us out of here?"

"Oh, yes, please do," he said, remembering something important. "My girlfriend, Yuka, she's in trouble. She got captured with me but we were separated."

"Yuka?" He was worried for a moment, but the patch on his jacket confirmed that he was a high school student. "Oh, you mean, the Yuka who lives here? I think you're talking about my neighbor."

"Really? It might be." He pulled his wallet out of his jacket and flipped it open to a picture of him and his girlfriend. "That's us, before this blockade went up and I got stuck here."

"That's her," Kazuya said, flipping open his comp to bring up a picture of him and his Yuka. "Actually, I'm engaged to a woman named Yuka, so you threw me for a moment."

"Really? That's quite a coincidence." He looked at the picture and smiled. "You two must be really happy together if this picture's any indication."

"Yes, but we got separated in this blockade nonsense. I think she's in trouble and I mean to find her." He called Pascal back out, startling Allen. "Can you get rid of those bars, Pascal?"

"As I am now, yes," he said, going over to sniff them.

"Isn't that a demon?" Allen asked. "Oh wait, did you download that Demon Summoning Program that came out yesterday?"

Kazuya nodded. "Yes, it takes some getting used to, but I can understand and command demons with this. Although, you have to get them to listen in the first place."

After checking out the bars, Pascal backed up, readied his body, then slammed full force into the bars. In a normal prison, that might not have worked. But in this hastily set up prison, the bars crashed right to the ground. It was sure to attract attention, but they were out now and he was willing to fight.

"Stay back here since you can heal me," Kazuya said, taking out his gun. "I don't want you getting hurt because of that."

"Sure," Allen said, staying in place while Kazuya came out of the room.

He was on his own, so this called for particular measures. "Keep very alert, Pascal," Kazuya said, looking at the layout of the area. Other patient rooms were barred and locked. "If possible, try to keep your attention opposite mine, to limit blind spots."

"Yes master," Pascal said, keeping his tail still but ready to attack. "I can see all directions at once with my heads."

"What's going on here?" a man called, coming out of the office. Kazuya quickly turned his gun to him, getting the man, apparently a nurse, to raise his hands. "Whoa, h-hang on there..."

"I won't shoot unless you make me," Kazuya said firmly. "Do you have the keys to these cells?"

"Yes, but the director says..." the nurse said.

"Forget it, unlock these cells and let the people out," he said. At his side, Pascal growled. And true to his word, Pascal was shifting his gazes to keep an eye on the other halls.

"Okay, okay," he said, fumbling for his keycard. He had to swipe it in a security box and enter a password, but it got all the cells opened.

"What are you doing here, bringing arrested people to this hospital?" Kazuya asked.

"It was Doctor Manu's idea, when the militia were asking around about places to put troublemakers," the nurse said, nervous and very cooperative now that the situation was turned on him. People started to come out of the cells, uncertain. "Manu has always wanted to do experiments in bioengineering and mind control, but of course, our hospital won't let him. Once he had the muscle of the militia behind him, Manu was quick to take over the hospital and force us to work on his plan. He's even threatened to put us staff members into his operations if we don't cooperate, so sorry, but I really didn't want to be doing this."

"It's okay, I believe you," Kazuya said, making the nurse drop his shoulders in relief. "Everyone, stick around here until we're sure the area's safe!"

His badge was in his wallet, but they might have recognized his vest and gun as being that which a policeman would carry. Or it could be that he was taking charge in a situation like this. They carried out his orders without question, either staying in their rooms or sticking to the lobby area of this emergency care area.

"Then what's the situation like here?" he asked, looking back to the nurse.

"If the militia officers haven't shown up, they're out of the building," the nurse said. "They've got the front door and all exits locked, and have set things up so that we need to unlock the door to Manu's operations area on the third floor in order to access the locks to the exits. Um, the second floor is where he's keeping people that are in the process of his engineering, so they're potentially dangerous and unhinged, if they're still alive. And Manu's changed as well; I think he's done some of his experiments on himself. There's another area of outpatient rooms on this first floor where us staff members are locked up when we're not on duty, over in the annex."

Kazuya knew the layout of this place from visiting it often. He nodded. "Are there any extra security measures aside from the door locks?"

"There are demons that are being allowed loose on the second floor and above," the nurse said. "Manu says that they're disallowed on the first floor and basement where our supplies are stocked, but I don't know how true that is."

"I think we'll stand a better chance at defense in the annex since it's not connected to the upper floors," Kazuya said. "If this is everyone on the first floor, we should move there and free the rest of the staff members as well. Does anyone here have access to the demon summoning program?"

Silence answered him, although people were coming out.

Of course, most people would have found it suspicious. "Does anyone have a comp or smart phone that can use the program?" he asked. "It's not going to infect your devices, I've been using it to good effect. It'll let you talk the demons into not attacking if they get down here."

"Sure, I could do that," a man nearby said. A few others agreed, not including Allen.

"Let's move to the annex, you can start doing that there," Kazuya said. As he had his weapons, he moved ahead of them to lead the way, and check for demons or other obstacles. Pascal got sent back to watch their rear. He had to call the nurse forward to open the door into the annex, but there was no incident to moving everyone there. Some others were injured, but the medical staff and Allen could take care of healing them.

He went ahead and questioned some of the staff while others got the demon summoning program to use. Their stories supported the nurse's story: Manu had taken over to offer his unethical experiments to the militia. The militia had not only accepted his offer, but also gave him research material and prisoners to get a jump start on things. The hospital staff wanted nothing to do with the human experiments, but the soldiers from the militia were just as aggressive against them as they were to Kazuya. Then he had to answer some questions, from those who had downloaded the program and were trying to figure it out.

Before he left the annex to scout the rest of the hospital, Allen came running over. "Kazuya? Could I help you? I mean, I'm not really armed, just with a broom I grabbed from the closet. But you're up against demons; my healing would help, and I think I could have other powers too."

He should say no; it wasn't safe to take a civilian along in times like this. But then he was something special. "All right, but listen to me and obey quickly if I give you instructions."

"Sure thing," Allen said, nodding immediately. With that, they headed back into the main part of the hospital.


	4. Fated Companions

There was no one left on the main first floor, not even a demon. But up the stairwell to the second floor, they encountered a vicious looking swordsman standing guard there. Fortunately, Pascal was more vicious and soon had that demon burnt to a crisp. They had to proceed around this floor slower due to the demons pacing the halls or lurking in rooms. As the nurse said, the patient rooms had corpses in them.

They weren't ordinary corpses. Kazuya hadn't had cadaver training yet, but they clearly weren't normal. Their bodies were twisted in unnatural ways, stiffened to that position in death. Putrid growths were on their skin and cancerous bulges could be seen. All this just over one day?

"How could anyone do this?" Allen asked, sounding queasy at it. "It's inhuman."

He wasn't too comfortable with this himself. "Right, we need to stop this guy. But with things how they are, I don't know if arresting him will help. It's hard to say how much the police are on the militia's side."

"Aren't you with the police?" Allen asked, looking for a distraction. "I mean, your gear looks right and you act like it."

He nodded. "I'm a rookie, just got my certification this spring. I've got a license for this gun, but no warrant. While I think my district here can still be trusted, they suspect other district stations are working with the militia. I can neutralize this mad doctor as a clear threat and call for support. But as I said, can't be sure in these times."

"Someone's alive in a room nearby," Pascal said.

"Keep alert," Kazuya told Allen, who nodded and kept quiet. "Where are they, Pascal?"

"This way." He led them to a room at the end of the hall. As they got closer, they could hear someone groaning in pain. Pascal was the one to first enter, lashing his tail at ready. But he assessed it as someone more in danger than being a danger, so he relaxed some. "Smells scared, be careful."

Since they would be scared, Kazuya kept the handgun at his side. The person inside looked to be about Allen's age, wearing thick glasses and dressed in a black and white long coat. He wasn't grotesque like the rest, thankfully. On his lower arm, there was a red gang band with an orange flaming wheel. Kazuya recognized the signs; this was a small gang only associated with Kichijoji, mostly high school delinquents. Actually, he might have been among the group of skateboarders he'd seen yesterday. And, he'd seen Allen yesterday too, at his neighbor's house.

He did cause music to start up in Kazuya's head, the Chaos song. "Jin?" he called.

"Huh?" The young punk looked up, puzzled.

"You know him?" Allen asked, looking like he might find Jin familiar too.

"You're Kazuya, aren't you?" Jin asked, shifting his glasses. "But I only met you in that dream."

"Dream?" Allen asked, his eyes wide now.

"Yeah, in the same dream I met you, I met him too," Kazuya said. "Are you okay, Jin?"

He managed to get on his feet. "I don't know." He grunted in annoyance. "Those thugs from Ozawa's gang were rounding people up and managed to catch me earlier, beat me to the ground. Then this crazy doc says he's going to control my mind, and all of a sudden this," he threw his arm out and a ring of fire flared up around that hand.

"That's what this doctor is doing, giving people magic powers?" Allen asked, shocked. "Although, you survived so far. Here, I can heal you." Although he glanced to Kazuya, who nodded to let him go over.

"Hey, be careful," Jin said, getting tense. "I, uh, I don't have control over this, I just know that action does that."

"I'll be fine," Allen said, getting calm somehow, perhaps from his own powers. He was able to undo the bruises and burns that Jin had.

"You're better off than the others here," Kazuya said. "Is your mind still your own?"

"I'm pretty sure it is," Jin said, scowling. "Because if I see that doc again, I'm going to show him what his stupid injection did!"

"We're going after him, but I'd rather try capturing him alive if possible," Kazuya said.

"Tch, fine, but he's at least gonna get burned," Jin said, then pulled a spiked rod from his coat. "Don't worry about me around these demons, I can handle myself."

"All right, but the Cerebus here is mine," Kazuya said. "We've just about cleared this floor, let's go."

They had to watch themselves while Jin didn't have good control over the fire he could call, but the only bad misfire hit Pascal who was barely affected by fire attacks. And Pascal was good enough to forgive him for that. He was even able to suggest ways to control it. "Agi?" Jin asked.

"Pascal says that's the demon's word for a light fire attack on one target," Kazuya explained. "Having the word might help you focus."

"Guess it's worth a shot," he said.

Up on the third floor, there were more demons but no more failed patients. A large door for sanitation reasons was blocking the way to the operations area, but the nurse had unlocked this from the first floor. Pascal sniffed out their target, but it wasn't long before they could hear cackling from one of the operation rooms. Manu was clearly insane; how had he managed to work for the hospital if he was like this?

There was a procedure to entering a room with a hostile target, but he was working with those without training, high school boys at that. Before they got in range, Kazuya held them up. "The important matter is to not let someone else sneak up on us. I'll send Pascal in first as intimidation and follow up. You two keep an eye on either end of the hall, in case of demons or willing assistants. Most of the staff are not willing, but take caution if one appears still."

"You actually some cop or something?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I've been trained for this," Kazuya said. "You'll do that?"

"Yes, I will," Allen said. He'd been obeying all along, so that was expected.

"Sure, got it," Jin said, putting aside any inclinations he had as a gang member for this.

"Thanks," he said, then patted his dog's back. "Go on, Pascal, but don't attack yet."

"Yes master." Pascal rushed over and pounced into the room, growling intensely.

"What are you doing, demon?" an angry man asked. There was a crash of glass.

"Stop right there," Kazuya called as he followed Pascal into the room. He took it in quickly: large biological charts would make for hiding spots (no shadows there, nor legs showing), an operations table could be cover (lots of instrumentation, though, could make for hazards), a shattered vial or something on a counter top, lots of cabinets that could be hiding anything. He held the gun aimed at the doctor's chest, more for intimidation than aiming to kill.

"Who are you?" the doctor snapped, glaring at him without heed to the gun. "Have you had your operations yet?"

"No, we want you to stop with the operations," he countered.

"Then you're an evil human who won't listen to me," Manu said. "You mere scribbles can't comprehend what I'm doing, you don't deserve to live! I'll show you just what I can do with my supreme scientific powers."

"Your science is ****," Jin said, coming into the room angrily. That wasn't proper procedure, but Kazuya couldn't blame him.

"No, you are less than that!" Manu injected some red-violet liquid into his arm, cackling once more. Then his face contorted like clay and he screamed in painful delight. What came out looked like some kind of sea ogre, half covered in seaweed and afflicted by those horrid pustules that were nearly black. He then lunged at them to attack.

Pascal got in the way again, protecting Kazuya. But this time, he could take the hit and still keep going. "Forget restraining him, let's just take this demon out," Kazuya said, firing at Manu.

"Gladly," Jin said, barely flinching at the gunshot. He jumped in to cast his agi at Manu, burning off a good deal of the seaweed and scorching the rubbery skin beneath. What kind of heat did that spell have?

Allen held back, praying. Something shone over the three of them and Pascal; the demon summoning program said that it was rakukaja, a defense boosting spell. That was a help when Manu started flinging black thorns everywhere; like bullets, they lodged deep into the walls around them. But if they were bullets, the spell was keeping them from piercing deep into their skin. Still, one of those thorns nearly cut through Kazuya's vest and Jin's coat. They felt deadly.

In the end, though, Manu was defeated. Strangely, his body deflated as he died, turning into a shapeless pile of skin, clothes, and seaweed. A plastic card skipped across the floor. "Good, he didn't deserve to die like a human," Jin said. Although with the way his face cringed, he was covering up for the awful smell that came off the demonic corpse.

"Urgh, let's get out of here before that makes us sick," Allen said, not bothering to hide how he felt about it.

"Right," Kazuya said. But first, he picked up the card. It was for the Echo Telecommunications Building. As he walked out, he turned the card around to see that it was labeled for 'lab access'. "Good, just what I wanted."

"A doctor's ID?" Jin asked.

He shook his head. "Access to the Echo building. There's something I need to do there." But checking out the windows up here, the sky wad turning orange and cloudy. "But it's getting late. Do you guys live here in this district?"

"No, I haven't been able to get back to the school dorm in days," Allen said. "I've been staying at my girlfriend's house since the blockades went up."

"You don't want to be over at my place," Jin said. "I don't want to be over at my place, so if you've got any other suggestions, I'm all ears."

"You can come by my house if you guys want, but you'll have to share my room," Kazuya said.

"Sure, we'll go with that," Jin said with a shrug.

"I'd like to, since we share a similar fate if the dreams are correct," Allen said.

"The nurse said the lock should be in the operations lobby somewhere." Once they located that and shut if off, they headed back down to the first floor to let everyone there know they were free to go. He then called up the police station to let them know. But as he suspected, they informed him that there wasn't much they could do against Gotou's militia. They would come in and clean up the mess, though.

Back home, his mother had already adjusted dinner plans to include their two guests. "Hello, good to meet you," she said with a smile. "I'm working on some chicken crepes; it'd be nice if one of you boys helps out."

"Sure, m'am, that's fine," Allen said, going into the kitchen.

"I'll go make space," Kazuya said, heading upstairs to do that.

Jin followed him. "Man… hey, don't take this personally, I just never expected I'd end up working with a cop."

Hoping to keep things friendly, Kazuya chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You're one of the leaders of the Turbos, aren't you?"

"How would you know that?" he asked, shocked but glad for the recognition.

He started clearing out space in his room, hoping the two didn't mind camping cots. "I'm mostly on patrol around the streets, so I need to know that kind of thing. And I'm always calling you guys off the road since other gangs keep you out of the parks."

"Oh, you're that guy?" Jin said, relaxing some. "That's better, then I don't mind working with you."

Nodding, he added, "We actually like you guys for the most part since your members stay in school and help keep bullying there in check. From what I remember, any trouble you guys had with us was getting into altercations with other gangs."

"The teachers could be a lot better, but we're not idiots," he said, proud of it. "But, you sure we should keep that guy Allen around? I only just met him, but I can already tell he's a wuss who ain't as tough as a guy should be." Then he added in a mutter, "And he's one of those crazy Mesians."

"The dream indicated that both of you are important, so I'd like to stick with you both," Kazuya said. Jin didn't seem too happy about that, so he added, "He strikes me as someone is capable of many things, but isn't confidant in himself. With some encouragement and protection from those who would take advantage of him, I think he could get braver and tougher."

"Oh yeah?" Jin asked. He thought about it, but then changed the subject and said, "I do recognize you now, but I never saw you as such a nerd with all these books and computer stuff."

"What, the comp wasn't a big enough give away?" he asked back with a smile.

It was a more lively dinner than usual, although Kazuya felt an ache as it wasn't because Yuka here with them. However, it became clear over that time that it wasn't going to be easy helping Allen and Jin get along. Jin was a rough character, although he did mind his language around Kazuya's mother. His gang taught their members to be tough, to not take anything remotely insulting from others without proving them wrong. On the other hand, Allen was an obedient young man in a Mesian private school, seemingly a model student.

"Although, I'm not really supposed to date outside school," he said, embarrassed when he was asked about their neighbor Yuka.

"She's a good and honest girl I can tell you that," Kazuya's mother said, encouraging him. "She's always been sweet with us; she even walks Pascal when we're busy."

"I know, and I was kind of hoping I could talk her into transferring to my school next semester," Allen said, scratching his head. "But I'm not sure that's going to happen with all the crazy stuff going on."

"They can't hold us all up like this forever," Jin said. "Though I don't mind an excuse to skip out on school when I can." Allen frowned at that, but thankfully didn't say anything.

"It's not legal, but they've already proven they don't care about that," Kazuya said. "If they're smart, they'll lighten up on the blockades and lockdowns. People were already complaining about normal life getting disrupted before the demons showed up."

"I don't see why they're treating all of us as the guilty party," Allen said. "We're just normal citizens."

"You mean the two of us are still just kids," Jin said.

"It's really not helping them at this point, especially not with the Americans involved now," Kazuya's mother said. "I know they're talking bringing back isolationist policies, but this could cause an international embargo on Japan and they'd really feel that with how everyone is used to imports."

"Are they really going to isolate us?" Jin asked, skeptical.

"They're trying," she said. "It's been all over the televisions broadcasts. Gotou has taken them over with his lectures and staged debates. You can't get away from it, not even with radio or internet."

"I really hope they don't," Allen said. "We should work for a more global peace and unity, not dividing ourselves." Jin snorted at that.

"We can play a card game to keep out of that, especially with four people here," Kazuya said to keep that from becoming an argument. "Um, but Mom? I need to tell you something about Pascal." He called the dog out of his comp. "This is Pascal now."

"Well," she thought a moment, reaching out carefully. Pascal licked her with one head and wagged his scaled tail. "He's kind of cute, actually. But what happened to him?"

"I had to do it to save his life when he defended me against a demon," he admitted. "Although I didn't know he'd turn out to be Cerebus."

"Is that how you have such a strong demon at your side already?" Jin asked, curious.

"Sort of," Kauzya said.

"It's fine, as long as he's still with us," his mother said, rubbing Pascal on a side head. "I can tell this is still Pascal. He's such a good dog."

Kazuya smiled, then went to track down a deck of cards to occupy themselves with this evening. Although they were a few years younger than him, he thought that Jin and Allen could be good friends with him. Jin needed someone to curb his more antisocial behaviors, while Allen seemed naïve and could use a guide to how things were outside of his church. But as for the two of them getting along? That would be a much harder task. He hoped tonight wouldn't prove bad.

* * *

That night, Kazuya found himself in that misty dream space from last night. This time, his new friends were quick to join him. "We're back in another dream?" Allen asked.

"I hope it's not too freaky," Jin said.

"I still need to find someone," Kazuya said, knowing that was why. After all, the golden apple was back in his hand. "Come on."

Only tonight, demons were roaming the halls too. They didn't have Pascal to help them out this time. However, Jin and Allen were better equipped to handle it. They also had guns; Jin was using an axe and Allen had a bamboo practice sword. It may have been a dream, but Kazuya could still give them hints on how to better use the guns. Although Jin's gun was a machine gun with a wide spread that hit multiple enemies without needing to target it, something Kazuya didn't know how to handle. Before long, Jin also figured out how to turn agi into maragi. He was quickly becoming their mass damage dealer. Allen kept figuring out new buffs; when Jin got poisoned, he even had an antidote for that.

"I know you two are different, but you could at least thank him for that," Kazuya said after a moment of silence as they traveled after that incident.

"Hmph, that's just what his power does," Jin said. "But fine, thank you Allen."

"You're welcome, Jin," Allen said, trying to be polite back although it was clear they were grating on each other.

In contrast, Kazuya wasn't figuring out any special powers of his own. There was the music; it was constantly in his mind through this realm. The beat shifted as they came across demons. He realized that he got the same beat when he ran into the same kind of demon. Sometimes, even similar enough demons like brownies and knockers sounded the same. Perhaps if he could interpret music better, he could recognize whatever he was sensing. But even if he did figure that out, it wasn't a visible power like these two had.

"Wait, Kazuya, stop," his mother said, appearing in flickering form in front of them. "I know you mean well, but what if something happens to you? I don't want to lose you as well."

"Mom," Kazuya said, feeling tension in his chest. He didn't want to upset his mother. But then, he was sure that Yuka was in trouble and he had to get to her.

"She really cares about you," Jin said, seeming jealous.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry Mom, but Yuka..."

"It's okay dear," she said softly. "I'm worried about you doing all this. But, you're right, Yuka's in trouble and you can't leave her alone for long. I hope you can find her quickly. Just, take care of yourself, and make sure you can come back home and see me."

"Of course, Mom, I promise," Kazuya said. "You take care of yourself too, and don't forget about your medications."

She laughed to cover her sadness. "I won't, I'll be extra careful with you being gone. I love you, Kazuya, and I wish you the best." She flickered away and was gone.

"She's a good person, I'm sure she'll be okay," Allen said.

"You just met her, how can you know that?" Jin said. "Though she is a nice lady. I hope she does stay safe."

"Thanks guys, but we've got to keep moving," Kazuya said.

"Where are we going?" Jin asked.

"To find Yuka, here and whenever we wake up," he said. "My fiancé; she was supposed to visit today, but then the trains weren't allowed to run."

However, the next person they met wasn't Yuka. To Kazuya's dread, it was Yuriko. "Kazuya, you have something for me, don't you?" she asked, waving him forward.

He stood his grounds again. "No. Get out of the way."

"Come on, I am meant to be at your side, for whatever you desire," she said. "Leave these two behind, come now."

"Is this your lady?" Jin said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Kazuya said. "She's stalking me even in my dreams when I just want her to leave me alone."

"But I am destined," she started to say.

"No you're not!" Kazuya said, making the dream maze waver. But it did get rid of Yuriko who winced as she vanished. "I'm getting to Yuka however I can."

"I'm with you," Allen said, running after him while the maze was still unstable. After a moment, Jin followed as well. "You'll find her, I know you will. It's a feeling I have."

"Dunno why you won't take that babe, but it's your girl," Jin said.

The hall ended with another doorway, which Kazuya went through. His friends followed him into the dark room, lit by candles and a magic circle. Outside of the circle, three hooded cultists were chanting some spell. A fourth was near them. "Hold up, who are you to interrupt our ceremony?"

But his eyes were on the white soul with them, a woman that he knew was her. "Yuka!" he called, continuing forward.

"Wait, Yuka?" one of the cultists asked in shock, dropping his arms.

"B-but that means…" the four of them suddenly screamed and vanished, to the gnashing of teeth that were not visible.

Kazuya didn't care and ran to catch her as she floated down. "Yuka..."

"Kazuya, you came for me," she said, uncharacteristically shaken by this. But then, she had nearly been sacrificed. She hugged him. "Thank you, I should be fine now."

The dream world was fading. He had a sense that Jin and Allen were already out of it. Before it could end, he pressed the golden apple into her hand. "I don't have time to explain fully, but with everything going on, our wedding might not happen. So please, take this and eat it when you wake up. I ate the other of this pair. This way, should things go bad, we'll still be connected no matter what happens, as soulmates."

"Okay Kaz, I will," she said as the dream faded away. She clutched the golden apple tight.

And when he woke up, it was missing from its spot on his study desk.

Apparently he'd slept in, because the others in the house were awake already. Despite finding Yuka in the dream last night, he was still worried about her. Was that situation symbolic, or the truth? With what had happened yesterday, he'd believe either. He got ready for the day.

Pascal came in as he was putting his shoes on. He growled softly and nudged him. Finding that odd, Kazuya got the earpiece off his comp so they could talk. "What's up?"

"Something doesn't smell right around here," he said. "I watched some ogre-creatures outside the house last night. While I kept them from trying to get in under my watch, I still think something's wrong."

Kazuya had been thinking over his plans for the day, but now that Pascal mentioned it, he closed his eyes. The music was soft but tense. "Maybe we should move Mom to the mall. That could be better." He headed downstairs, Pascal following behind.

"Oh, hey, uh," Allen said, scratching his head.

"Morning, guys," he said, part listening to see if the music changed to any degree.

"Morning, Jin said. "What he's trying to say is, your mother's being weird this morning. Nothing like last night."

"Does she seem to be in pain?" he asked, worried about her having a relapse. This was a stressful time, so it could be that.

"No, she's just, weird," Allen said, finding himself helpless to describe it any better.

"Oh, good morning Kaz!" she said, coming into the room with a large smile on her face. Normally he'd be cheered to see her in a high mood in the morning, as she surely had to be feeling better. But the music got louder, haunting and threatening. "Why don't you come here and give me a big hug?"

He felt wary and glanced to the wall. She had made markers to try sealing out demons, so… the lines were broken. She wouldn't be careless in making those.

"What's the matter, come here," she said, coming closer to him.

"You're not my mother!" he said, backing up into a chair. Now, what did he have here? "What did you do to her?"

"Huh, that didn't take you long to figure out," whatever was taking the form of his mother said. Then it appeared to suck its own skin into it self, revealing a corpse-like creature with ragged dirty wings. Its voice warped, but still remained understandable without the program. "It's too bad you turned down Yuriko, what, three times now? You even managed to evade her in person yesterday. Well, now she's going to take your precious Yuka and get rid of her so she can take her place."

"No she won't!" Kazuya said, grabbing the chair behind him and smashing it into the creature. Pascal had clamped onto its leg so it couldn't escape that. Jin managed to follow up with a lightning bolt out of nowhere while Allen was quick to their defense. "What did you demons do with her? Or my mother?!"

The demon just cackled. "Feisty, feisty… I wouldn't know about Yuka, but I would happily take you to join your mother, in my stomach!" Its jaw ripped open to where it could easily swallow him whole and lunged for him.

Kazuya snarled and jammed the remainder of the chair he had into its mouth. Splinters flew everywhere and it had to drop back, gagging. Jin was able to finish it off, leaving it to turn into nothing but a few dirty feathers. "Monster," Jin grumbled.

"Kazuya," Allen said, troubled by this. He came over and touched his arm. "I don't know what to say, but, she didn't deserve that."

"Don't bother him if you don't know what to say, just give him some space," Jin said, not comfortable with the situation either. He started to head out.

"It's okay, I'll just have to figure this out later," Kazuya said, trying to hold back his own grief and worry. "But I have to find Yuka; we should get to the Echo building."

"Why, what's there?" Allen asked.

"Something to help us," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically, you pick up the Chaos Hero after the hospital. It would make so much more sense to find him there though, more than the Law Hero. Manu is trying to make super soldiers, which would make sense of Chaos starting with fire magic when Law is easily explained with being blessed by angels. But in game mechanics, Law is the better first companion due to having healing and support spells.


	5. Echo Telecommunications

**Chapter 5: Echo Telecommunications**

He took a moment to check out his mother's room first. She wasn't there; the blankets were in disarray and some dirty feathers were on the floor. And near her bed, her window was opened a crack. That might have been it, whatever the demon used to break through her seals and get in. But there was no time to investigate further, or any reason to really. He made sure to gather some supplies from around the house, just in case, then left with the others and locked the door behind him.

The number of demons on the streets had increased even this early in the day. The number of people braving the outdoors, however, seemed to be just them. The gutters were trickling down with rainwater; the skies were overcast, although no rain was falling as they headed down the street past the hospital. As Kazuya hoped, the ID card he'd gotten from Manu was enough to open up the front door.

Inside, the building appeared to be deserted. A small buildup of dust lay on things; papers were undisturbed, as if they'd been left to a new day to finish. Before long, the demons found them. Strong ones too, although still not as strong as Pascal. His partners were getting strong too, upgrading their spells seemingly by instinct. As such, he wasn't left with many chances to stop and talk with the demons here, which was what he was best at.

The first three floors didn't have much to help, aside from scattered supplies and some things that Pascal indicated could be useful in time. On the fourth floor, they encountered broken security gates and warning signs. This was somewhere called the Terminal Research Lab. As it was, he didn't seem to need the lab access card once they were past the front door. Kazuya still hung onto it.

Eventually, they came to a hall where priestly chanting could be heard. It made the hairs on his neck stand on end as he could hear a matching melody in his head. This was dangerous. Even Pascal growled hearing it. A man's voice cut over the chanting. "Come forth my brethren, be free of the Abyss! Come… come on, this door is open! We need to spread our entrance!"

"He's calling on more demons, isn't he?" Allen asked, defensive but ready to fight.

"I think so," Kazuya said, creeping towards the door.

"Ugh, what is it now?" the man said. He threw open the door, snarling at them. "What's with the interruptions? Hey wait, who are you guys?"

"Stop what you're doing, we don't need more demons," Allen said, trying to be commanding like Kazuya was. But he didn't have the nerves to do that.

"What I don't need is more humans bugging…" he suddenly looked down to where Pascal was growling. "What are you doing here with them? Mother said we would only go with approved humans."

"I don't know what you're saying, but I do know you're trouble for my master," Pascal replied, still hostile.

"We only answer to the gods!" he snapped back, growling back. His very image shuddered, then vanished to reveal a brawny lion with golden fur. "Cerebus, as a traitor to Mother, I will slay you!"

"No you won't," Kazuya said, firing his gun at the lion. It somehow deflected off the lion's skin and grazed his arm.

"He can't be harmed by ordinary weapons," Pascal said, then used two heads to breathe fire at the lion.

"Whoa, a bulletproof lion?" Allen asked, shaken by it; he raised their defenses first.

"Apparently it can't be hurt by our weapons, just spells," Kazuya said. He put an order into his comp for Pixie to try her magic against… Nemean Lion, according to the program. He couldn't order her directly in that way, but she had Zio and potentially Happlima to help out with.

"Don't worry, I've got your back then," Jin said, throwing more fire at the lion.

Nemean Lion was primarily focused on Pascal, slashing with his claws and ramming his whole body into the three-headed dog. Unfortunately, Kazuya didn't have much he could do to help. He tried using some of the magic items he'd gotten from demons, but they didn't do nearly as much damage as Jin could with his own magic. That only increased as Allen boosted his power until Jin was able to leave scorch marks in the lion's fur. Not even Pascal was doing that.

With that, the lion grew more cautious. He fled back into the terminal room, quickly followed by Pascal. When Kazuya went in, the two priestesses had vanished, leaving their staffs, robes, and some dust. Perhaps they had been demons too, or taken by them like his mother. How far was this going to go? Would everyone in Tokyo turn into a demon? And how would they tell?

Backing out of one of Pascal's attacks, Nemean Lion got to the computer console and hit it with his tail. Pascal continued after him, quickly getting swallowed up by the flash of light that filled the room. When it cleared, both of the beasts were gone. "Pascal!" Kazuya went after him, but nothing happened when he stepped on the plate.

"Man, this just isn't your day, Kaz," Jin said.

"As long as we can find Yuka, it could still turn out well," Allen said. "My Yuka as well."

"This thing," Kazuya said to himself, looking over to the panel. It was labeled 'Kichijoji Lab' while the screen has locations of 'Abyss L1-A23 Hod' and 'Main Lab'. His comp beeped at the same time as the terminal device. Its screen said, 'Compatible COMP detected for terminal transport system. Please register comp with terminal network.'

"It looks like it was plucked directly out of a cheap movie," Jin said.

"It's a transport system," Kazuya said. Even though Pascal might have ended up in this Hod, "I don't think we want to try the abyss one, but it seems like it can get us out of the district." He flipped open his comp to register with this device. It would just be the devices learning to recognize each other, so that didn't take long.

"How's it supposed to take us anywhere?" Jin asked. "We're on the fourth floor."

"Maybe it'll unlock the trains?" Allen asked. "But, those need drivers, right?"

"It says it's an instant matter transferal device," Kazuya said, then shrugged. "Seems sci-fi, but I'm storing demons, bullets, and paper clips in my comp. I'm willing to try it. You want to stay here or come with me?"

"I think we're supposed to stick with you, Kazuya," Allen said. "And I wouldn't want to abandon you after, um, all this mess this morning."

"Sure, why not?" Jin said. "Hopefully this actually does something."

"Come over here on the metal plate," Kazuya said. Once they did, he was able to activate the transport to Lab 2 with his comp. There was a bright flash and a feeling like his whole body was coated in static. It cleared up and they found themselves in an identical room. But once they stepped out, it was clear they were in a different building. The auto-mapper even showed that they were underground now.

"I need to recruit another demon or two to replace," his throat tensed but he had to keep himself together, "who I had. You guys can scout this level if you want." But he wasn't about to recruit that lion that took Pascal, or the strange bird that had taken his mother.

"Sure, be careful and call me if you need help," Allen said.

"I'll be around," Jin said, taking off in the opposite direction Allen had. Only, that turned out to be a dead end, so he had to reluctantly go after him.

"So, who you gonna look for in a demon?" Pixie asked, not seeming to care about what was going on. The program showed that she was curious and lighthearted. "More girls?"

"I don't know, probably someone with different skills from you," Kazuya said. And maybe he'd try fusing Pixie, if only to get away from her attitude. It felt so out of place with what was going on.

"I hope they're girls," she said with an eager smile.

Kazuya entered a room nearby, finding a strange chest in the room. Oddly enough, it contained an emerald. Pascal had said last night that among demons, whoever opened the chest like this owned whatever was inside. Smarter demons hid chests with things they found very valuable and left common things in easier to find chests as a sort of game between them. So he put the emerald in his comp storage, as it was proving safe enough to keep better things in. It might even be safer than putting it in his bag where it could get pick-pocketed.

As he turned to leave, a demon with white horns and bat wings flew in. "Halt there human!" he said, although he brought out claws to attack immediately, expecting him not to understand.

Kazuya locked him with his tonfa, then said, "Aren't you supposed to wait to see if a person complies with your orders?"

"Huh?" That stopped the demon. According to the program, this was a gremlin. "Uh, well yeah, if it's another demon. But you humans don't understand."

"Things have changed," he said, tapping his headpiece. "I'm a summoner and I can understand you."

"What? You don't look like a summoner. At least, not like I'm used to." His tail whipped around. "Hmmm, well, I want to see how strong you are, yeah? Hit me and then let me hit you."

"All right," he said. Although he was worried, he wanted the gremlin to at least respect him. He struck the demon in his shoulder, then let him hit. The gremlin went for his chest; its claws were stopped by the police vest. "Well?"

"Huh, maybe you aren't half bad," the gremlin said. "Where's your summoning charms and papers?"

"It's all in my computer here," Kazuya said, showing him the comp. "Would you work with me? I'm trying to find someone quickly and could use the," muscle didn't seem right for the thin body he had, "strength you have."

That pleased him. "Hah, you bet you could use me! All right, you got a deal, bud. I'll work for you. Just, not used to all these new-fangled computer such. Though dead handy for those terminals and getting here!"

"Sure," Kazuya said, accepting the summons offer from Gremlin. He vanished briefly, so Kazuya called him back out. Meanwhile, Pixie was grumbling about having to work with a gremlin. "How's that?"

"Whoa, that's kind of weird," Gremlin said. "But not bad, not bad. I could get used to this. You've got some high quality mag, young man."

"Thanks, I think," he said. "I have some friends helping me out, but it'd be nice if I had another demon who could help too, like different magic or just a strong physical fighter. Got any recommendations?"

"Uhh..." he tapped his nose. "Well, I think we gremlins are best, but I think you can only take one of us. Maybe an andras or a kobold will listen, or if you're really lucky, you might impress one of the orcs. They're rough characters and most humans seem like prey to them."

"I see. But you'll help us with getting out of here, right?"

Gremlin nodded. "Sure, sure, long as you have the MAG, I'll take on anybody for you."

And he meant that, willing to fight other gremlins, orcs, and the others prowling around here. It wasn't long before he ran into the other two again. "I found the stairs up, just down that hall," Allen said.

"And I found some guy who wants to talk to all of us," Jin said. "Odd fellow in a wheelchair, over that way."

"I thought the workers here were turned into zombies," Allen said, a little upset now with sympathy. "At least, that's what two of them said to me. They really weren't happy with that."

"Who'd be happy turning into a living decaying corpse?" Jin asked, as if that was obvious and not worth the empathy.

"Let's go see the wheelchair guy, if he's still human," Kazuya said, clamping down on the argument before it really got started. This could be easier to manage if he hadn't just met these kids yesterday. But supposedly, greater forces were watching all three of them.

At the end of the hall, they came to an office where the man Jin had found was waiting. He looked as though being in rough shape was normal for him; he was slow with his arms, except for the fingers dancing across the attached keyboard like a masterful musician. His neck had to be held in a brace, tilting his head off to one side. His eyes were quick, but he was using a voice synthesizer to speak.

"Hello," he said, the synthesizer managing a warm friendly tone. "My name is Steven, and I'm one of the scientists who worked here. Any you are?"

Kazuya nudged Gremlin first. "Keep a watch out in the hall so we don't get interrupted," he told him.

"Got it." The winged demon then left the room.

"I'm Kazuya, a police officer," he said in introduction. "And these two are helping me out, Allen from the Mesian Private Academy and Jin from Kichijoji High School. Are you the guy who made the demon summoning program?"

"That is correct," Steven said. "And you must be the Kazuya who's been the first active user communicating with me regularly. You seem to be using it quite well too. Unfortunately, it's proving hard to master for most people, even with the corrections that you have been suggesting. There's still much to do, but we need the means to fight back now."

"I'm getting more familiar with it as I use it," Kazuya said. "Explaining more in the manual file and making that easier to understand at the start would help, as I'd suspect that it's mostly getting a starting demon that's a big hurdle for new users to overcome. I had to talk several people through using it yesterday."

He made a signal with his right hand to acknowledge that. "I'll see what I can do, but if you get some time, it would help if you could write up an introductory tutorial based on your experience. But first, you need to get out of this lab, right? I've negotiated with the demons to leave me alone here with my computer equipment, so I'm fine. But I also locked down the exits to keep them here instead of letting this band of warriors out into the streets. This isn't the only terminal they're using to get out, though. For now, clear out the lobby on the floor above and I will unlock the front door for you. If you have need of this terminal again, access the security with your comp's terminal registry and I'll let you back in."

"All right, thanks," he said.

"Hey, you must know a lot about demons, huh?" Jin asked. "So, what do you know about a guy who was trying to implant demonic powers into humans?"

"Was that what he was doing to you?" Allen asked. "That was..."

"Dr. Manu, I used his card to get to the terminal in my home district," Kazuya said.

"Then that's what he was up to," Steven said. "I've contacted him a few times on my research into the nature of space-time and material existence, which resulted in the terminals and the demon summoning program you're using. But I wasn't privy to his research plans; he was quite unprofessional in not sharing his findings and theories. He certainly shouldn't have been doing live human research. Are you doing well?"

Jin nodded. "I'm fine, but everyone else was horribly mangled and mutated before dying. Except maybe Allen here, since he's got powers too."

"No, I never saw Manu until we fought him," Allen said. "I got my powers from an angel while I was imprisoned in the hospital."

That didn't please Jin much. "Hmph. Well he did something to me while I was knocked out from Ozawa's beating. Said something about adjusting the mind control chemistry before injecting them into me. I wasn't in shape to leave the room until these guys came and found me."

Steven frowned. "And mind control? He shouldn't have been allowed to practice medicine, especially at a public hospital like that. What happened to him?"

"He turned into a gross demon and we killed him," Jin said. "Then, am I going to end up turning into a demon?"

He thought about that for a moment. "That's hard to say. Although they were ridiculed by science, there have been magicians throughout human history that attained powers like the both of you have through various means. Some were indeed transformed into something beyond human. However, those cases seemed to have come about from repeated ceremonies such as when they first earned power, or through special contracts with otherwordly beings. As long as it remains just the one time you were granted power, you should remain human."

"Just as long as I don't end up like all those corpses, I don't really care what happens now," Jin said. "I can actually fight these demons and not have to hide like everyone else."

"Is that all then?" he asked. "Good luck on your way. Oh, and Kazuya, you should get an update to the program soon, a demon analyze database that will record information about demons you encounter. It should be useful. And in case you suspect there may be a demon in disguise, the program can tell you that without being overt."

"Okay, good luck with your work," Kazuya said, although he got the feeling that Steven was brilliant enough to overcome any amount of luck, especially as he was still going in spite of his current state.

Clearing out the lobby took some time as demons kept wandering over to see what the big fuss was. Then they'd get challenged again to another fight. At the end of one of the larger fights, a pig-like orc waved its axe. "Hey, hey, you're a pretty good summoner. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said, then held a hand up to Jin. "Hang on, that orc wants to talk to me."

"Good, so then, you know a chick named Yuriko? Looks like she could be an underwear model Yuriko?"

He tensed at that, but decided to be honest. "Yes, and I don't like her at all."

"Ah-ha, so you are that guy!" He snorted like the pig he was; the program said he was amused. "You've got a lot of guts to be saying that about her. Most guys would just give in right when she starts making moves on them."

"I can tell," he said. "But she rubs me the wrong way and I've already got a fiancé."

Allen raised an eyebrow at this. "What are you talking about?"

The orc snorted again. "Well I don't like her either. She said I wasn't her type, can you believe it? That babe doesn't know what she's missing."

"Then she is in league with you demons?" Kazuya asked. Although honestly, he wasn't that surprised.

"Heh, think I'll let you find that out on your own," the orc said. "In the meantime, you seem all right. What do you say to me joining your crew? I'll prove myself better than the boney dork and sparkly chick you have now."

"Oo, you have no idea what you're talking about, butterball," Gremlin said, flexing his claws. "Fine, let this guy into your thingamabob and I'll prove myself over him."

"Sheesh, boys," Pixie grumbled. "I told you that you should've picked up more girls."

At least this was competitive arguing that was more alike than not. "All right, I'll work with you, but you three better keep things civil," Kazuya said, accepting the offer.

"Got it," the orc said as it was absorbed into the comp.

"Of course, there's nothing worthwhile about proving a civil challenges with uncivil means," Gremlin said.

"Meh, they can't do what I can," Pixie said, stretching her arms and acting bored.

"Demons take some getting used to," Kazuya said, more to his human companions. "He was asking about the woman from our dream last night."

"Was she a demon?" Allen asked.

"I don't know for certain, but she's anything but normal," he said, to which Gremlin nodded but failed to elaborate on.

Now that he had the orc, no more demons got into the lobby and Steven unlocked the front door for them. As he'd hoped, they'd ended up close to Shinjuku. Demons were everywhere in the streets and humans barricaded themselves in their homes. There was no traffic from vehicles, so it was a clear shot to the underground mall from here. If his thinking was right, the bar on the matchbox should be there.

On the way there, they passed by a giant television screen that was playing one of Gotou's lectures. They were using an old one today, from when he'd only been known as a radical politician and environmentalist. But if it was that, he'd been arguing for working with demons for a long time. His impassioned voice boomed along the streets as they had to fight their way through to the mall area.

"That guy's got some crazy ideas, but they're making some sense now," Jin said.

"No, we've got to be careful with these demons," Allen said. "We might not have believed in them before, but demons have long been written about as tempters of mankind who want to corrupt us into being dependent on them. Kazuya seems all right for now, but you really need to be careful of listening to the demons. Don't let them talk you into doing anything unethical, all right?"

"I think we're beyond the point where old ethics apply," Jin said.

"I've been careful all along, but they are one of my few advantages in this situation," Kazuya said. "It seems to be an equal exchange for now; they need what I can give them."

"And what's that?" Allen said in concern.

"They need magnetite like we need water, as best as I can understand it," he said. "And magnetite only comes from a human's will and emotions. It's kind of like a pet relies on you for food and attention."

"As long as you don't treat most of us like pets, that's one way of seeing it," Gremlin said.

"I hope it doesn't have any ill effects on you," Allen said.

The underground mall here was larger than the one in Kichijoji. Halls stretched out to many turns, with shops and services all laid out on a grid. In spite of the quiet above, a number of people were down here, gathered for safety or for convenience of supplies. But then, homes weren't all that safe now. There were even those who were taking this opportunity to lecture to others and sway them to their causes.

This caused a jarring layer of melodies in Kazuya's mind, something that hadn't happened before. Was this something the old monk had been saying? The forces of Law and Chaos were moving to earn the hearts of the undecided people, pulling the balance in their favor. And the two with him were going to be heavily involved in that. Still, he quickly decided to draw them away from the lecturers before they noticed. He didn't want to see them get too extreme. Plus, Yuka should be here.

Once they found the bar, there was a bit of a problem he should have seen coming. "You guys have ID cards?" the waitress at the door said. She looked like she could throw them out if they or anyone caused trouble. "You seem underage."

"I'm not, but is it all right if I keep an eye on them?" Kazuya said, getting out his card to show her.

"Oh don't worry, we don't mind underage patrons coming to the regular counter," the waitress said, checking his card. "You're just the only one who can order at the alcohol counter. Thank you, be good now."

"Crazy lady," Jin said once they were in the crowd.

"She's just doing her job," Allen said, glancing around uncertainty. It wouldn't surprise Kazuya to learn this was his first time in a bar.

But it also wouldn't surprise him if Jin was used to this kind of place. Or more likely, a seedier locales that would overlook a few years for paying customers. There was quite a crowd in here, using the drinks to deal with the current situation or grabbing some food at the other bar. Smelling the bacon and other goodies in here made his stomach growl, reminding him that he hadn't gotten anything to eat today. But hopefully, his goal wasn't too far away.

Just to be safe, he took the other two to the non-alcohol counter to pull out the matchbox. "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone," he said, showing it.

The bartender there nodded knowingly. "Ah, you've got the right place. There's two entrances to their area, in the corner over there and out closer to the mall's south exit. Show that to the guards downstairs and they'll let you in."

"Thanks," he said, tucking the matchbox away quickly in case this was trouble. It certainly felt like it.

"I've heard of some exclusive restaurants, but usually not beneath more open businesses," Allen said. "Is it a sushi place or something?"

Jin snorted. "If it's hiding under a bar, it's probably something more sketchy. Drugs or brothels, that kind of thing."

"Um, well," Allen blushed at that.

"I don't think it's that, not with Yuka involved," Kazuya said as they made their way back there. "You know that from experience?"

That actually got Jin embarrassed. "Well, I heard of places like that, but even being in the gang didn't let us into the really secret dives and such." Kazuya declined to point out that his gang was all kids copying what they saw in older gangs.

Downstairs, there was a more traditional bouncer waiting them. "Whaddya kids want down here?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm looking for Yuka," he said, showing the matchbox again.

That got his attention, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Huh, Yuka? Don't recognize you, unless, you Kazuya from Kichijoji?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's me. And these are some friends of mine, they're trustworthy."

"All right, I gotcha," he said, stepping aside. "Hey Mit! Tell Yuka that Kazuya's here!"

"What, really?" a skinnier guy down the hall said, shifting his glasses. "All right, hang on."

"So what is this place," Allen asked as they came in.

"I'm not sure myself," he admitted. "But she told me to meet her here."

Since they were new here, they waiting out in the halls until the skinny guy came out. And she was following him, dressed differently from what he was used to but it was undoubtedly her. When their eyes met, there was a soothing song in Kazuya's mind that made him feel like everything was right with the world again. She smiled in relief and came over to hug him. "Kaz, you came! Thank goodness, I wasn't sure what was going to happen to you."

He would have liked to kiss her, or at least hug her much longer. All the pain that his heart had been through the past day came back, hoping he'd speak for them. But they weren't young people completely mad with love. There were others and she seemed to be holding a position of respect here. He let go of her after a moment. "I'm glad you're fine, Yuka," he said, smiling at her. "But what's going on, why are you here?"

"There's a lot I need to tell you," she said. "Also, Jin, Allen, it's good to meet you in person as well. Come in here, we'll discuss the situation."

"Um, hello," Allen said.

"You were really that one woman from the dream?" Jin asked.

"Yes, that's how I knew the three of you would come together," Yuka said.

This appeared to be an extensive storage and office area for the businesses upstairs, but a number of people were down here busily working on other things. And what Yuka had to explain was strange, but something that made sense in these circumstances. She had gotten into a group of protesters who were against Gouto's takeover. They'd been making small moves against them in trying to make lives easier on people. When the Americans got involved, her group was already labeled rebels but started working against them too.

"But in truth, we can only do little things against the larger forces moving to control Japan," Yuka explained. "The blockades cut off our groups from each other, and it so happened that the people here chose me to lead them until we can connect back with our true leaders elsewhere in Tokyo. Your arrival here is a boon to us since we could use all three of you in the next operation we want to carry out."

Kazuya nodded, wanting to help her out with what responsibilities she had. "Sure, what do you have in mind?"

She bit her lip, then said, "In the past few days, the militia forces have been rounding up any girl named Yuka they can locate. I think it's because they're trying to find and arrest me."

"Is that what happened/" Allen asked, leaning forward. "My girlfriend Yuka got taken by militia soldiers and I was dropped off in a hospital being used as a makeshift prison. Do you know where she is?"

Yuka nodded. "Yes, we've located where they're taking all those poor girls. I feel really bad about this happening to them just because they're trying to find me. It makes me concerned that something bad has happened to our main leaders. Anyhow, we're planning a raid in a few hours to rescue them from imprisonment. The problem is that Gotou has been recruiting various gangs and thugs to boost his militia forces; they're usually the ones being the most violent. And we have word that a gang led by a man named Ozawa is the one who is acting as security for where the other Yukas are being held."

"Damn, you've really got to get them away from those jerks quickly," Jin said, frowning. "I wouldn't trust them around any girl."

"It'd be good for you to join us, since your abilities will give us a good advantage," Yuka said.

"That would be," Allen said. "Except, I don't know if you should involve Kazuya. He, uh, he lost his mother this morning to the demons, and his dog."

"Oh, really?" she said, immediately concerned for him and taking his hand. "I'm sorry, Kaz, it's..."

"And he hasn't eaten anything today either, so that could be a problem after the fighting we've done to get here," Jin said, trying to act like he saw it as dumb.

"Uh, yeah, I could use some time to sort things out," Kazuya said, his head whirling at the reminder. He'd been in constant motion, more or less, since he'd woken up this morning. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Yuka said. "Take what time you need. Jin, Allen, go across the hall and let the man there know that I'd like you both to help with this rescue. He's more of our on-site tactician."

"Sure," Allen said, and both of them respectfully left them together. Allen even closed the door behind them.

Before he got too caught up in things, Kazuya told her, "Look, if you take those two guys out on the same mission, you'd better understand that they don't get along with each other. The main reason they've kept civil so far is because they'll cooperate with me."

"All right, I'll try to sort them into different groups," Yuka said, pulling on him so she could hug him again. "Kaz, you don't deserve this."

Kazuya hugged her tightly and was soon crying. "I'm just glad I still have you, don't be doing anything reckless now."

She didn't even have to tell him that she'd gotten the apple from the dream. He knew they were soulmates now and nothing was going to break that. Now they just had to make sure each other survived.


	6. A Brief Slowdown

Sometime after the others had left on their rescue mission, someone from the bar upstairs came down with food for him. "Courtesy of Lady Yuka, no need to pay," the waitress said with a wink.

"Thanks," Kazuya said. He didn't really care what he ate right now, but she had gotten him some rice balls he preferred along with pan-fried vegetables.

While he ate, he wondered what he would be doing now. With his mom and Pascal gone, it felt like most of who he was was suddenly gone. Of what was left after that, he still had his mission from the chief. The militia was controlling everything, perhaps even the police here. Kazuya didn't like the idea of that. But, Yuka was here leading a group against Gotou. He wanted to support her now that he was aware of that. Maybe he should see if the mall here wanted some extra security guards, give her group some extra financial support and help.

He felt a lot better having spoken to Yuka, enough that he felt restless just waiting on the others to come back. Maybe not the security work yet; he'd want to see if his work as a summoner would be useful to her. There were already guards down here, so he left the hideout and drifted around the bar listening to what people were talking about.

Ozawa was taking advantage of the demon invasion to quickly increase the influence of his gang; he was apparently buddying up to Gotou, although that might have only been a rumor. People were still unsure of the demon summoning program. A few were complaining that it was hard to get used to. After all, it wasn't really useful until you directly contacted the demons first and convinced them to join you. There was also talk of Yuka's rebel group. Some thought they were just adding to the chaos, while others thought they were doing their best to stick up for Tokyo's citizens.

But Yuka's group couldn't have much power now, not compared to Gotou's militia, gangs like Ozawa's, the demon hordes, and the American troops. What could they do to gain some purchase? Getting the support of ordinary citizens like these would be a start, but they needed a good way to bypass the district blockades. Supplies like food and medicine would also need to be addressed before long.

After making some notes on his comp, he decided to leave the bar and check out other places for similar talk. It wasn't much different from his excessively detailed notes in class. Gathering information in one place and reviewing it later would help him figure out what was going on. To that end, he decided to head back to where the lecturers were and activate his audio recoding to catch some of what they were saying.

The first one he came across was the Mesian group that owned Allen's academy. A woman in white and blue robes was speaking to a group of people who had bags or blankets of the same colors. From that, he guessed that they were distributing supplies to gain this audience. "You need not fear the demons. God will come help us and has already sent some relief into the world. But first, we must prove our love and devotion by enduring these trials and coming together under His name. It needs not be any big thing; changing your life in small ways to follow the laws of God will help you with far more abundance."

"Don't get too sucked into this lady's good-sounding words," a man whispered to him. "They say they're going to make the world a better place, but I hear that if you don't believe the same as them, then you'll just get forgotten about in the ditch."

"I see," he said quietly, to the man's satisfaction. Although, he wasn't sure at this point if it really was that drastic. He continued listening. She did say at one point that a better world was coming, one that would be heralded by the appearance of a Messiah that would save everyone from suffering. According to her, all one needed to do was believe to become saved at the appearance of the Messiah. There was no mention of what would happen if one merely disbelieved, although she did say those who were evil, corrupt, or arrogant would be cast at the waysides, made to atone for their sins for an equal measure to their crimes.

After hearing that, he went over to the other lecturer in the area. According to a sign on the wall, this was a group known as the Gaeans; they had a temple here in the Shinjuku mall similar to how the Mesians had a church. Were there spats between them, or just passive-aggressive competition? They too were providing what they could to people to show that they could take care of them.

The man leading this lecture had a black and gold coat on, with a red insignia on the sleeves. "The one who can truly save us from these tyrants and uncertain times is Lord Lucifer, the morning star that would guide us all but has been framed as a deviant and evil force within the world by the slaves of a harsh and strict God, one who would self-admit in their scriptures to be jealous. Lucifer will reveal the truth to us all, that we do have the strength to survive even in harsh times like these. He will wipe out the false propaganda that lulls those who believe in it to a mental numbness that turns them into feeble dependent creatures. Do not fear the demons; learn to welcome them and accept their guidance, for they know the true state of humanity's soul."

"These are just lies to make the greedy and power-hungry accept them as tyrants instead," a woman said to a friend of hers as they walked away from the group. "I hear they run secret bloodsports, and that Gotou himself is one of their number."

"Both of these people just want us to put our faith into them with just words and basic gifts," the other woman said. "I'd like to see them actually do something."

"Don't listen to those two ladies," a woman near Kazuya said when he was watching them leave. "We will do something, very soon in fact."

"What are you going to do to show your sincerity?" Kazuya asked quietly, trying not to interrupt the lecturer.

"Well they were right in that the honorable Gotou is one of us," she said. "He means to bring Lucifer back into our world himself. Once he does, everything will change."

"Everything has changed an awful lot over the course of this week," he said. "But I'll see what happens."

"You'll see the truth," she said, smiling as she went off to speak with others.

He felt like he should hold off judgment. They both sounded good and they were doing good things. But then, that would be necessary to get more believers to their cause and gain momentum. Since he had this to start with, he shut off the audio recording and went to check out the rest of the mall.

In one corner, he ran across something odd: a demon that seemed to be a cartoony little snowman. Demons were getting to be normal to his mind already as he'd seen a wide range of what they could be. But this one was doing something that he could only think of as beatbox blues, turning some random noises into a song that was strangely soulful and wistful. When he checked the program, he discovered that it was a Jack Frost. And it really was just making random noises for musical reasons, as the program couldn't interpret it.

It fit how he was feeling today, so Kazuya stopped there to listen for a while. The Jack Frost was really into his song, with his eyes closed and swaying to his own beat. Nobody else had stopped here. Perhaps they were wary of the demon. But he didn't seem troublesome, and Kazuya could address that if that changed.

When Jack Frost decided to end the song and bow, Kazuya clapped for him. He jumped in being startled, sending harmless snowflakes into the air. "Whoa hoo, didn't think I had an audience! Hee ho! Thanks!"

"You're pretty good at that," Kazuya said.

The Frost put his hand to his mouth. "Hmm, oh, are you one of the new summoners? I heard things were changing and some folks could understand us better. Ho, that's great! I want to entertain humans, but they can't understand me normally."

"I think they could understand the soul of your music, once they stop to listen," he said. "Actually, I was glad to hear something like that. I've had a rough day and it's comforting to have blues at this kind of time. Not so lonely."

"Oh, I'm hee-appy to touch you like that," Jack Frost said, waving his arms excitedly. "I'm gonna keep trying, and eventually they'll all listen to me. So uh, while it's nice to have a human to chat with, I don't think I'll travel along with you."

"That's fine, can I give you a bit of yen for the song?" he asked, getting out his wallet to get out a coin to hand over.

"Oh yes, my first tip!" he said, accepting it. "Now I'm a singer for real! Tell you what, you tell me your name and I'll let the other Yousei demons know that you're a super cool guy. They're, they're fairies, you know? Other Jack Frosts, and Jack'o'lanterns, and pixies, and those sorts, they'll give extra consideration and not ask so much to ally with you if another Yousei says you're good. It's like that with many demons, actually."

Kazuya smiled at him. "Thanks, that'll help out. I'm Kazuya."

"Hee ho-okay, Kazuya, I won't forget that name," Jack Frost said. "Good luck, I hope your day gets better!"

"I hope you can gain renown quickly," he said to him, then moved on as Jack Frost went back to his beats, with a happier tone to it this time.

Not far from the Jack Frost, he found a shop that was labeled as a Heretic Mansion. Here too? Kazuya went inside; he'd recalled his three demons when entering the mall at the request of the guards at the exit. A feeling like static came over him as he stepped through the door. He found himself in a lab that seemed exactly like the one back in the shrine. Actually, by the wooden floors and red walls outside the door, this did seem to be the shrine itself.

"Welc- ow!" the manager's greeting was cut short as he bumped his head into a metal ring. "Sorry, got caught up in work."

"You okay?" Kazuya asked.

"I'll be fine, happens all the time," he said, coming out from under his control panel. "And, you were that Kazuya guy, right? I remember you. So then, how may I help you today?"

"Did I just get transported back to the shrine?" he asked first.

He nodded. "Yes, it's that kind of place. But if you've found the door, that means you can use my services. Well, you'd know that already, but other summoners have been coming in in confusion since they weren't told fusion was a possibility. I would like to change that, but I'm not sure how to contact them without them finding a door in the first place."

"I mean to write up a tutorial for new summoners soon," Kazuya said. "I'll make sure to mention about fusion, although I don't know much about it myself."

The manager went over to his control panel. "Well, it's a science, only it isn't standard science as it's still all being formulated. It's an art too, one that few people grasp, which I'm trying to adapt to technology. So it's, well I'm still working out everything myself, but I know how it all should work. There's a lot of tweaking I need to do to get it consistent. It'll help just to have more fusions to perform, whatever it is."

He was glad he hadn't heard that before putting Pascal through fusion. After briefly wondering again where his dog had ended up, he focused on what he could do right now. "I see. Actually, I have three demons at the moment, I could try this out. Get more information to pass onto others."

He grinned. "Great! It'll work just as before, send them onto those front circles. The back circle is for triple fusions, if you want to try that. Triple fusions are more likely to fail, but my theory is that some very special demons can come out of the process. If you get three demons who could be related through mythology, either the same culture or same roles, you could end up with a greater demon of a similar sort."

"Maybe later, when I have more demon allies," Kazuya said. He was hoping to get Pixie fused, but from the owner's projections, Orc and Gremlin had a better result. He called them out. "I'm going to try fusing you two together, you fine with that?"

"Whoa, you guys even have fusion as technology?" Gremlin asked, impressed. "All right, let's go!"

"Sure, I've been hoping I could earn a change someday," Orc said.

As he hadn't had them for long, it didn't affect him as much to watch them being dissolved to get fused together. "Now let's see what shows up," the manager said, grinning a bit more than a sane person should.

Kazuya worried about that as a strange blobby shadow appeared in the haze. Then it flickered in patterns that reminded him of garbled sprites in a glitched game. Fortunately, the garble rearranged itself into a more sensible form. It was a huge hairy creature that looked like a muscular man with wild black hair, green skin, and a lion-skin pelt tied around his chest. At his side, he had a large gnarled club with a few thorns. "I am Troll, at your service," he said, thumping his club on the ground. His colors briefly inverted.

"I see, I see, this should make for good study," the manager said, already making notes.

"Are you okay?" Kazuya asked Troll.

"Why do you ask?" Troll replied. "I feel great, like I just woke up from a great nap! Actually, I don't remember much before waking up, just that you're someone to respect. Whatever you're after, I'll make sure you win!"

"Thanks," Kazuya said. "We'll see how you fight later, Troll, I can't have you out in the mall."

"Hmm, I hope you call me out to a good fight," he said, accepting the recall.

"Doesn't remember, huh?" the owner said, having been watching his screen this whole time. "Normal, though these numbers..."

"Is he really okay?" Kazuya asked. "That looked glitchy."

Worryingly, the owner shrugged. "He looks fine on my end. It wouldn't hurt to keep tabs on him, though, that was unusual. I wonder if I can replicate that." He seemed too distracted in his study to explain more than that.

After leaving, he got some coffee from a cafe and went back to the base to write up some critiques for Steven, as well as that new user tutorial. He checked on the new update for demon analyze; thankfully, it kept a log of the past twelve demons he'd encountered, with a separate list for his party members. Due to when it had been downloaded, what he had was Jack Frost for encountered and Pixie, Gremlin, Orc, and Troll as having been in his party. The analyze gave an estimated stat spread, expected skills, and for his current party members, an estimate of their current mood. Troll seemed content for now.

The analyze was interesting, so he gave Steven his first thoughts, noting that he'd need more encounters with it to give a good review. He could give thoughts on the automapper, including some surprise that it could already differentiate between various shops and eateries. But it would be useful if it could retrieve the names of the places along with their basic category and if he could mark areas that remained unlabeled. Other than that, Kazuya had a better grasp on how this mall was laid out and could find places again easier.

The new interfaces were better to him, more organized and legible. But it might take a new user checking it over to see if they could understand things quicker. Although, it would be more useful if the auto-mapper had an icon on the main HUD so it could be switched to quicker than digging through menus. With all the demons around, taking less time to orient oneself before a potential attack was important.

And then, the new user tutorial. Magnetite was important to understand, yet potentially alarming in a way that could deter users. Kazuya weighed his options, then wrote, 'Magnetite is a natural resource given off by a human's emotional and rational processes. We cannot use this energy ourselves, but demons require it to maintain themselves outside of the Abyss. Demons will refuse someone who cannot support them through personal magnetite. Through working with demons and defeating them, as well as keeping a healthy balance of mind and body, a summoner's capacity for magnetite will grow. This will lead to the capability to summon stronger demons.'

Next, it needed some advice on the hardest part, the initial step of getting a demon. 'A weaker and friendlier demon is advised as a summoner's initial contact, to get used to the negotiation process and have a lesser chance of rebellion. For example, a brownie or pixie would be a simple demon who shouldn't be too demanding. A gaki is also a good choice, provided some kindness is shown to it first. Along with that, choose a location where it will be quick to get back to safety should negotiations break down. If you are not confidant in your fighting ability, allying with someone who is will be helpful for making the initial contract.

'First, one must speak with the demon and indicate that you wish to ally with it. Contracts cannot be formed under a time of high magical energy, as indicated by the Abyssal Lunar Phase icon on the HUD. Outside that time, the demon will be open to talking. Next, give answers that appeal to or appease the demon. This will require figuring out a demon's personality type, which may require a few encounters to have a good grasp on.

'If they are pleased with the conversation, they will most likely make demands of gifts. It is advised that a summoner have a good supply of common items that demons like: life stones, spell stones, money, medicines. They may also demand some of your life or magnetite. Demons will not kill during negotiations, but they can break negotiations to attack if displeased or angered. Take caution in agreeing to a life or MAG demand.

"Once the demon is satisfied and wants to be your companion, they will offer a contract. The terms of a summoning contract that the Demon Summoning Program is capable of are as follows: the summoner's MAG for the demon's loyal service. Take caution if the demon tries to introduce extra terms to this agreement. Accept the contract on the HUD and it will be official. The demon will now obey you and assist you.'

He got it completed and sent off to Steven. Hopefully, this got more summoners who could help other humans fight back and stay safe. And now… the others still weren't back. How were they doing? He hadn't heard where the other Yukas were being held. Trying to get the girls somewhere safe with all the demons outside, this was a major operation for a small group. How many people did Yuka have here?

Would his mother have been able to contribute with her paranormal knowledge? It had once been superstition, but now… and she hadn't been able to keep the house safe in the end. Why had they gone after her, out of everyone in Kichijoji? Was it because of him, because he had that golden apple that made the greater powers notice him? But then, Yuriko had found him even before he'd gotten the apples.

His mother could have cooked for everyone. Kazuya sighed, thinking over days at home, the way Pascal greeted him so eagerly and seemed to know just when to bark to join in conversations. There was how his parents worked in harmony, as if they'd been born for each other. Even when they disagreed, discussions were kept respectful and they'd be quick to figure out how to apologize. As he'd grown closer to Yuka over the years, he'd felt like he might have found a love like that for himself. But he would have liked to keep a family like he'd expected, him and Yuka, some children, his mother being a sweet grandmother, and Pascal or other dogs keeping them safe.

Most of it was gone now, but at least Yuka was still alive.

But, when would she come back?

He paced in the room for a few minutes before he heard people coming down into the hideout. From the sound of it, they had the imprisoned girls free. There even were some children with them, angering him for a moment that the militia was really going after any Yuka they could locate. Letting that pass, he came out to help them sort out what to do with the girls now.

The women could easily be put to work with the bar upstairs or other businesses that were supporting the rebellion. Some of the older teens could do so as well. The children, three of them under the age of fifteen, would have to be sorted into the civilian care upstairs unless their family could be contacted again. Kazuya volunteered to use the terminals to get around the blockade to contact their families. Allan had gone off to the side with his girlfriend to talk happily with her while Jin went with the group's strategist to learn what he could from him.

"Are you going to be okay with running these missions?" Yuka asked him when they got a moment alone, worried for him.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "To be honest, I still feel empty about this. But I have you, and Tokyo's become very dangerous. This is no time to get wrapped up in my sorrows. I might not be the best for this situation, but I'll do all that I can to help."

"That's how I feel too," Yuka said with a nod. "I really didn't want to think of your mother being gone; she was doing so well and was like a second mother to me. And losing Pascal too, I can't imagine how it is for you."

"There's a chance I can find him, but I don't want to risk it right now," Kazuya said. "The terminal he got lost through had the Abyss itself as an open location. He probably got sent there. As he's a strong demon now, he should be able to take care of himself. He might even be trying to get back to me already. Tomorrow, we can work on getting the girls back home if we can. It could even get us in contact with the other groups with you."

She smiled. "Yes, those terminals will be a great asset to us if we get control of them. Thank you, Kazuya dear."

* * *

Another night, another dream. Kazuya wondered where he was meant to go today. There wasn't a clear direction today as this maze was not a single path. But, it was a dream. As long as he didn't run into Yuriko, it didn't matter to him. He picked a direction and began walking. When he came across a door, he decided to go through.

He was back home, in the kitchen. And she was there, busily cleaning the counters. "Mom," he said, going over to her. She often cheered him up, but this made him sad.

"Hello, Kazuya," she said, pausing to smile and give him a hug. "It's always nice to have you drop by. But don't you have something important to be doing?"

"I'm not sure what I should be doing now," he said. "And, I have to be going on without you."

"You've got this. I'm sure of it; I took care of you for many years, and then you took care of me." She patted his arm. "You're still taking care others, so be sure to take care of yourself. If you're not sure what to do, do what you always do: listen to others, observe that's going on, take notes, review the situation. You'll find your way, as you always do."

"Thanks for reminding me," he said, meaning it deeply. "It's been a bad day. So much has happened at once." He recalled a sharp dangerous melody. "Yes, it all started when I heard the music in class. That must have been when the demonic invasion began. Something was trying to warn me, but I couldn't read the music. And then things have just been happening one after the other, good and bad, mostly bad it feels like. Now I've got those two high school kids who look up to me already. They're going to have a powerful influence on the world, they just don't realize it yet. I somehow have influence over them for now."

His mother bowed her head. "Yes, they're looking up to you. But they're also looking to pull you away from your path, the one you can only find if you find the means to balance everything: those two kids, the radical beliefs beginning to boil up, yourself. I believe if you go further on this way, you find one of those kids."

"All right. Thanks for all you've done." He left her, knowing that she was going to be fine.

Further down the maze, the colors shifted to red and black; he began hearing the melody of Chaos. He was going to run into Jin. Not long after realizing that, he found him in the white soul form they took in these dreams. "Hey Kazuya, mind helping me out?"

"No, what do you need?" He had a feeling the dream wouldn't go anywhere unless he did this.

"I'm looking for something to make me stronger, so I don't end up as a victim anymore," Jin said. "I know it's got to be around here somewhere. Then I can take control of my life finally."

"That would be good, but we shouldn't forget to help others avoid being victims too," Kazuyu said. "Let's search around."

"Once I'm strong, I can help out people like me," Jin said.

They headed off deeper into the maze. When they came across a door, they found a small room like the kitchen earlier. In here, there was the Gaean man that had been speaking in the mall. "The world has lost its way ever since faith was lost in the ancient gods," he said. "Too many voices crowded the air, confusing the people. Some would say that the problem lies within the cacophony, but the truth is still within all the chaos. The ancient gods are calling us. If you listen, and find the strands of wisdom that get repeated, you will find the truth."

"What are you saying?" Kazuya asked. "You say there's too much noise, but then say to listen to the noise."

"I'm saying that the reason we are lost is because we lost faith in our heritage and true nature as humans," the Gaean man said. "But it is not entirely lost. The old gods are still with us, waiting until we listen to them again. They know how the world should truly be; they can lead us to our lost glory and real strength."

"I don't think we'll find any help here," Jin said, frowning. "I don't care about gods, old or new. If they lost belief, they can't be worth anything. And I really don't care about people who ******** their way through everything. You speak all high and mighty, but you can't do anything." He then left without waiting on Kazuya.

"We have seen that this boy has great promise, but no patience to listen," the Gaean man said. "He is weak now, but will find his true strength someday."

"I think you're blowing up what little you have into being something that sounds much bigger," Kazuya said. "But I'll keep an eye on him."

"You should do so, support him through his mission," the Gaean man said.

He found Jin outside, waiting impatiently. "People like that get on my nerves," he said. "Especially teachers who don't have a clue about what they're doing. I've had way too many who couldn't teach worth a ****. Can't rely on anybody but yourself, really."

"There are reliable people out there," Kazuya said.

"Haven't met many of them," he said. "Let's go, I don't want this to take forever."

Further down the path, a man stood in their way, flickering like most people here. He was standing unsteadily. "Huh? Takeshi, what the **** are you doing around here?"

"Don't call me by that name," Jin said in disgust. "I don't want anything to do with you."

"Well then don't come around here?" he said, shaking his head. "If your mother finds out, she'll kick up a fuss again. I don't want to hear from her at all."

"We can agree on that," Jin said. "Now get out of our way."

"Who is this?" Kazuya asked.

Jin answered dismissively, "My father, the world's biggest loser as far as I'm concerned."

"Takeshi, look, the world's a crazy place," Jin's father said. "I mean, I was just minding my own business coming home from work and some naked woman stumbles up to me. She was a complete hag, and stunk like rotten meat. I told her to screw off, but then she killed me out of nowhere. No reason, but that's just how things are. The world's ways are always going to screw up a good guy and there's nothing you can do about it. Just give up and go home."

"Ignore him, he makes less sense than usual when drunk like this," Jin said to Kazuya. "I'm not going to give up; I'll do things my way."

"Hang on, there's something I've always wanted to talk to you about," he said.

"I'm not listening, go away," Jin snapped, pushing past him. His form flickered away.

"It sounds like he was killed by a demon too," Kazuya said, following after him. "Couldn't you listen to him just once more since he is your father?"

"I have no reason to listen to that deadbeat bastard," he said. "I never bought into all that respecting your parents garbage because mine were never worth an ounce of respect. While he's relatively harmless, he's also incredibly stupid and irresponsible. One time it seemed like they were going to throw the book at him for failing to pay support; wouldn't have been enough to make up for all the dumb **** he pulled, but it would've been something. But then he managed to bribe the corrupt judge into letting him off with nothing. He does have one thing right: everything's a joke, so it doesn't matter what you do in the end."

"You can be better than that, but ignoring him completely won't prove anything but your own stubbornness," he said.

"It's not like that, just let him rot in his drink," Jin said.

"Takeshi!" a woman called.

"Oh great, maybe we should find another path," Jin said, sighing in annoyance.

"Is that your mother?" Kazuya asked. He nodded.

"Oh Takeshi, thank God we found you," she said, approaching with another man. "You need to come home right away. Leave this place. Like I've always said, you're going to go to hell the way you're acting now."

"Shut up about that already!" Jin yelled, his spiked rod appearing in his hand. "I'm tired of your preaching ********! You just use that as an excuse not to think about anything anymore."

"There's no need to attack," Kazuya said, grabbing Jin's hand before he could do something rash.

"But she's right, Takeshi," the man said. "You're making a mistake in following that violent gang and hanging around those Gaean fools. Come back to the Mesia church; we can save you from the corruption trying to take hold in you."

"I've got no reason to listen to either of you, leave me alone," Jin demanded. And with that, both of them vanished. "Hmph, wish it was that easy outside of dreams. They're always taking about saving my soul, but they just want me as part of their stupid cult. My step-father there is a priest among them; he speaks really nice, but he is a complete monster underneath that. He got her hooked on that crap years ago."

That made a lot more sense of how he saw things. It still was something that should be corrected. "That's awful. Did she change a lot?"

"Immensely," he said, trying to be angry but letting some of his pain into it. "Actually, I remember her being like your mom before he showed up in our lives. Things were really tough on her, and when the Mesians gave her an excuse to ignore everything, she fell for it completely. She goes on and on about how just believing in this God is going to save everyone. And all you have to do is make everybody else believe too. Don't have to do anything worthwhile, you just have to believe." He snorted. "Belief doesn't mean anything."

"That's what I've been saying all along," Jin's father said, coming up from behind them. "Nothing matters, so to hell with everything."

"You're doing nothing but making excuses too," Jin said. "Come on, let's go."

However, the Chaos music was different around Jin's father. There was something important to do here. "Hang on, Jin, just listen to him one more time."

"And why should I?" he said, bitter.

"You might find what you're after," Kazuya said. "Or at least a clue on where to find it."

"Oh… fine." He still wasn't going to get near the man. "What do you want?"

The ghost seemed relieved. "Well, it might be something you've already learned, but people are gonna try to confuse you and use you. Cause, you got something most people don't. You gotta stick to your guns and follow what you know to be best. And if people try to get all up in your business thinking they know what's best for ya, well sometimes you gotta let 'em know what you think, with this." He gestured to Jin.

And he suddenly had a large axe where the blade seemed like it'd been ripped off a guillotine and painted black. Jin stumbled in surprise at the weapon's sudden appearance. "Whoa, what the… what's with this thing? Looks heavier than it is."

"It's complete deadweight if you ain't got the right heart for it," he said.

"Why did you have this axe?" Kazuya asked.

"Ah, I used to run with the street gangs too," his father said, reminiscent and smiling. "Fought my way to being the leader, then kicked the ass of every other gang around. We were like kings of the world then, with only fools daring to cross us. Even the cops were scared. And then I got a shoulder injury that meant I couldn't use that anymore." He shook his head. "Everybody turned on me in a flash and I got beaten to hell and back, several times. But nobody managed to top me, right? I figured if I found some young punk who might, I'd give 'em my old axe if they got my respect. Good thing it ended up being my first son, eh?"

"What, you? You were the mythic street king?" Jin seemed suspicious of this, yet was in awe anyways.

"The one and only," Jin father's claimed. "But look, if you go trying to match me, take things smarter, yeah? Cause I didn't think things through and treated everybody like ****, and look where that ended up: the former king turned to a washed out old loser always out to forget everything. At least I don't have to care anymore. I ain't scared of hell, cause I'm sure it's got nothing on what I've lived through." He then vanished without much more of a goodbye.

"You got that right," Jin muttered.

And then the dream ended, with Kazuya worrying if he could get Jin to listen at all.


	7. Axe and Sword

For that day's search of other districts, Kazuya decided to take Jin with him. They were going back to Kichijoji, to let his neighbor know that his daughter wanted to stay with Allen and to speak to Jin's mother and stepfather. There was also a house where the resistance members in that district had been based. However, the home was ransacked and they could only identify the bodies by ID cards in their wallets. One of them even had the matchbox, apparently a special one-off print set to a small chain of bars throughout Tokyo. The owner of those bars was the one who'd established the group as Gotou and his followers began rising in power.

As bad as that had been to investigate, one would have thought going to see Jin's mother was far worse by his reaction. "I don't let her know about anything anymore," he said, speaking over the wind and rain. "I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"At least let me let her know that you're safe and alive," Kazuya said. "If she really doesn't care, I don't have to say anything more."

"Hmph, if you have to," Jin said, looking aside. "Thanks, I guess."

He meant that more than he was acting like. Kazuya nodded. "Sure, I can met you over at the south entrance to the mall if you want."

"Yeah." He headed off, so Kazuya gave him a bit of time to get reasonably out of sight. Then he went to the house and knocked on the door. There were lights on in this rain, and the windows looked intact. He was hopeful that there was someone here.

After some tense exchanges behind the door, a man opened up the door with a silver crucifix clearly in hand. Troll, who'd been staying out with him in case of ambushes, winced and stepped back. "Who are you?" he asked warily.

"Excuse me for that, and the interruption," Kazuya said, recalling the troll for the moment. "I'm using that one to destroy the other demons. Is this where a boy named Takeshi lives? I'd like to speak with his mother."

"Takeshi?" the man asked in surprise. "Well legally, he does live here, but we've hardly seen him around for months. He hangs out with one of the gangs around here."

"I'm aware of that, but I'd still like to speak with his mother," he said.

"Who is it?" a woman asked, sounding like the one from his dream last night. The man was familiar from it too.

"Some young cop who wants to talk about Takeshi," Jin's stepfather said.

Kazuya shifted his umbrella. "I'm only a rookie, sir, working independently at the moment."

Jin's mother still came up to the door. "Did he get arrested again? I'm sorry, he's a lost soul and we can hardly reach him."

"No, it's not about that," he said. "I just wanted to pass along that he is alive and well in spite of the current situation. I offered to let him come with me today, but I wasn't going to force him once I knew this address."

"Well that's good to know," she said, relieved and clasping a cross on a necklace. "As long as he's alive, there's still hope for him."

He nodded. "I can tell that he's shut out a lot of people already, but so far, he seems to respect me. I promise you, m'am, I'll keep an eye on him and show him a better example of who he could be."

"Thank you sir, I hope he can open his heart to you," she said. "God will come to save us, we just need to have faith and hold out for Him."

While Kazuya wasn't a believer, he didn't want to offend them. "I'll let Takeshi know you're still thinking of him," he said.

"Yes, we do love him and hope he'll come back to us someday," the man said.

But Jin's mother came forward. "Actually, well..." she closed her eyes. "There's something I should tell him, but I only thought of it when he stopped listening to me. I thought it'd make him shut me out entirely, but he's done that anyhow so..."

"What is it?" Kazuya asked.

She opened her eyes, but wouldn't quite look at him out of shame. "He's not actually my son."

"What?" her husband asked, shocked.

"My first husband was a vile man," she said, a thin frown coming to her face having to mention him. But that soon vanished into shame and sorrow. "The child I had by him, well, he died as an infant. And that man thought it was appropriate to bring me another infant that he claimed was his own, all so that no one would know about the death. I was able to cut myself off from him after that. But that baby, my Takeshi, I couldn't abandon him. Not even as he grew up so wildly, where I could barely control him. I tried to show him love. Maybe because he wasn't my own, maybe he could tell that without knowing, but he's always given me a hard time even though sometimes a more caring side shows out of him."

"I had no idea of that," her husband said.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, for troubling you with such a strange story. I keep having a bad feeling; I wanted someone to know the truth, someone who could tell him that if I couldn't. There's so much I wish I could have done differently for him. I love Takeshi and I wish I could make him see that."

It was strange; was Jin ready to hear that kind of thing? "I understand, m'am," Kazuya said. "I'll let him know if you can't tell him yourself."

"Thank you," she said, bowing to him.

He said goodbye to them, then waited to make sure they had the door locked securely. It wasn't certain if that would stop demons, but they had holy symbols like that cross. They should be fine. Looking up at the sky, he knew he should get done with their business quickly. This rain could grow stronger from the looks of the clouds at the horizon.

Outside of the mall, he found that Jin had already gotten in trouble, with a larger teen wearing a makeshift security uniform; the label as such was taped on and the pants didn't even match. "What are you doing listening to that asshole?" Jin yelled at him. "We all agreed to work against him when he was a local jerk throwing his weight around, and now you're working for him?"

"Hey, keep up with the times, Jin," the guard said. "Ozawa's shot up the ranks to become Gotou's right-hand man. If you want to stay in power, you gotta stay with those in power. They're going to keep Tokyo safe and we're helping."

"You're just feeding into that guy's ego." Jin said, then nearly glanced at him. He quickly turned back to the guard, taking the gang band off his arm. "Well that's it, I'm quitting for real this time! I'll make my own way now." He then stormed off in the opposite direction.

"You're a ******* idiot, Jin!" the guy called back angrily.

Kazuya closed his eyes and sighed. Jin would need a lot of work. But then, he could figure out what he was doing and appreciate it. They still needed to question those in the mall to see if any of the missing girls had family taking shelter in the mall. The guard might not talk to him if he was seen speaking with Jin right now. Although, if this man was working under Ozawa now, it might be tougher to get in.

He still hurried to catch the guard before he went back inside. "Excuse me, could I ask you something?"

"We're not allowing demons in the mall, so you'll have to recall yours, summoner," he said disdainfully.

"I'm aware of that," Kazuya said. "I'm looking for relatives of girls named Yuka. Are there any here?"

"Don't think so," the guard said. "Besides, we're supposed to hang onto them until Gotou can find the right Yuka. We're telling any folks that have girls like that that they're being taken care of. But I haven't had to say that to anyone."

"We're trying to get the girls to calm down and accept their current situation," he said, grateful for the misunderstanding. "That's why I'm looking for them."

"Ah, well I'm pretty sure there aren't any here, but I'll forward a message if people ask questions," the guard said with a nod.

"Sure, that'll work," Kazuya said. Wanting to see what he could find out, he added, "Any word on what's been going on with the hospital?"

"Well the doc the militia was working with is dead," the guard says. "Too bad since absolutely nothing came out of his research; I was hoping for some of those enhancements he was advertising, you know? The local police and their snot-nosed academics are keeping their silence on what went down. Hey, if you've got a good ear, can you pass up that we really need to bust up their pride and do something to break them up?"

"Sure, I'll pass that along," he said, opening up his comp. But his note was to send a message to the chief that the gang guards were considering this. "How is the demon spread around here?"

The guard shrugged. "I wouldn't know; I've just been told to keep 'em out of the mall. Once the rain lets up, we're gonna round up those holed up in their homes and bring them here. It seems safer."

"Got it. Thanks, I need to move on and catch some other folks to question."

"Don't get yourself sick out here, all right?" the guard said, waving before he went back inside.

He hurried over to where Jin had gone. "Man, this has been a bust for me," Jin said. "I feel like I shouldn't have come back."

"Other than my neighbor, it seems like none of the other Yukas were from here," he said, nodding in agreement. "But your mother was worried about you. I told her I'd look after you."

"You don't have to be doing that," he said, rubbing his head. "But, thanks, I guess. They doing okay?"

"Yes, they've got themselves barricaded in safely," Kazuya said. "Let's move on to the next district; I don't think we want to be in this weather too long."

"It feels like too long already," Jin said, heading with him to the Echo building.

Kazuya spoke with him through the day, trying to give him things to think about. But he kept bringing up figuring out if his father had been speaking the truth in the dream and searching for stronger demons to take on. And he did have that black-headed axe, far deadlier than any of their other weapons or spells.

* * *

Another night, another dream. Kazuya felt like he was starting in the same place. By dream logic, Allen should be in the opposite direction that Jin had been. He headed that way.

As he thought, he soon came across Allen's soul. "Oh, we're dreaming again?" Allen asked. "I had a feeling something was familiar about this place."

"Sure, what are you doing?" Kazuya said.

"Well, I feel like I have something I should be doing," he said, rubbing the side of his head. "Like I heard what I was supposed to do, then forgot. I wanted to find something that could remind me of that, if it was anything."

"Sure, if we look around here, we should find something," he said.

Allen nodded, not going to question that logic in a dream. As they headed onward, the maze changed its nature again. It took on the Mesian color of white and blue, had the melody of Law in Kazuya's head. But he had a feeling that if he could check a map of this place, he'd find that the two areas were mirrored.

When they checked on the first room, they found a woman in heavy makeup leaning against the wall. She had a skimpy outfit on, a short shirt that showed her toned torso and very short shorts. "Oh, Yuji, how nice of you to drop by," she said cheerfully. "You want to come by for some tea as family?"

"Uh, sorry mother, not right now," Allen said, embarrassed. Maybe he wasn't quite as naive as Kazuya had thought. Or at least he knew about some things. "I'm looking for something with my friend here, something I should be doing. But, I'm not sure I'll find it here."

"Probably not," she admitted. "But you know, I'm so proud of you, dear! I couldn't have given you a better life if I had been trying to raise you. You just be sure to treat women nicely, okay? We have to put up with a lot from men who think they can take anything from us."

He did bow to that. "Of course, mother. I, uh," he seemed nervous about being noticed here. "I hope you're doing well."

"I'm getting by, that's about the best I can do," she said. But she either didn't mind it that much or was really good at hiding her feelings. "I love you, dear, don't throw away your life on a bad cause."

"I won't, um, take care of yourself," Allen said, then left with some uncertainty to him.

"He's a good boy, I don't have to worry about him," Allen's mother said. "You run along too. If you're one of his friends, you shouldn't be around here."

"Yes, m'am, I'll be watching over him," Kazuya said, then headed after Allen. He still seemed embarrassed. "Hey, don't worry, I won't judge."

"You'd be one of the few," he said, rubbing his head again. "She gave me up for adoption; I got taken in by a Mesian family who really supported me. They let me choose a name more fitting to the group when I was thirteen too. But they wouldn't let me forget I was born of sin. And, well, she decided she wanted to be a part of my life anyhow, so she'd come by occasionally to see me. She'd take me out to tea houses, generally safe places. I liked that when I was a kid, but then I learned what she actually did, and, well..."

"She cared enough about you to make sure you had a good life and kept in contact," he said. "Just from that, I think she did the best she could in her circumstances."

"Thanks," Allen said. "I don't hate her; I do wish she'd find some other work. I'm sure she could do something. Well, never mind that, I don't think it's important. Let's keep looking."

Further down the path, they came across one of the Mesian priests. "Allen, you've not been in the dorms the past few days," he said.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, trying to keep calm. Kazuya remembered what he'd said about the many school rules he had to deal with. "I was visiting a few friends when the martial law came down and got me stuck in Kichijoji. I'll check back in, I promise,"

"Sure, we mean to search that district tomorrow," Kazuya said. "I'll bring him by."

"Thank you," the priest said. "I hope you're keeping up with your studies and devotions."

"Uh, well I have my devotions in my bag, but not my class books," Allen said. "I've been getting in extra devotions studies in the meantime, the scriptures too."

"Good, because someone like you can't afford to slip up in studies for the sake of your soul," the priest said. "You have an important role to fulfill, as do we all."

"Yes sir," Allen said meekly. "Um, sir? I have a feeling I was told to get something done, but I can't remember what it is now. I feel like it was something very important."

"Were you? If it was important, you shouldn't have forgotten." His expression was stern.

Allen was trying to keep his cool, but this man intimidated him. "Yes sir, but, um..."

"We've been rather busy trying to oppose the demon invasion," Kazuya said to cover for him. He felt like they should end this quickly. "He did speak to the angels and received a blessing from them. But it was under adverse circumstances, so letting things slip in the face of fighting to survive is understandable."

"If you're battling the demons, you are doing God's work," the priest said. "And, you spoke with angels?"

"Yes sir," he said, holding up his right hand. "What I do remember was that he said dark times were ahead and I needed to survive them for, something, that's what I can't remember. But he granted me healing powers, which I've been using to support good fighters like Kazuya here."

"Is that so? Hmph, healing powers are good, but won't be enough in the face of the demonic hordes." He reached over and touched Allen's head. "If you are going to offer yourself as a front-line fighter, you should have the capacity to do some devil slaying with your own powers."

"Ah… yes, sir," he said a bit weakly. Kazuya caught his shoulder as the priest vanished. "Ugh, this..."

"What did he do to you?" Kazuya asked.

After he steadied himself, he could finally answer. "He granted me the ability to use Zan spells. That's good; I shouldn't have to rely on you and Jin all the time now. When we did the rescue, I had to hang back to heal the girls they got out."

"That's good," he said.

"Allen," a voice called from further down.

He went still at that. "Oh, that's the angel I spoke with. Let's go see him."

"Sure." He ended up following after Allen, since he seemed eager to see if the angel could remind him of what he'd forgotten.

In another room, they came across a powerful looking angel. He had the head and arms of a blue-skinned human, but many red feathered wings were obscuring the rest of his body. Allen was quick to bow to him. "Haniel. I'm sorry, I don't recall all that you told me, and now that's bothering me."

"Don't worry about it at this time," Haniel said, clasping his hands together in front of his wings. "You are accomplishing what I asked of you, step by step. It shouldn't be long before you remember. However, the one thing you must not forget is your faith in God. Others may try to tempt you away or cause you to question matters, or even insult and degrade you. But you must never ever lose faith in God. It is important to who you are."

He was relieved at that, putting a hand to his chest where he'd normally be wearing a crucifix. "Good, thank you. And I won't forget. It is important to who I am."

"Giving you only healing and support magic was a test of your resolve," Haniel said. "Since you have already received attack magic now, I should grant you this. It has belonged to you all along." He offered a sword to Allen, one that seemed to have a too thin blade and a strange quality.

"Okay," Allen said, unsure of receiving a sword. But once he held it, white flames sprang out from the thin blade. "Ah!"

"That proves you are the one that God chose," Haniel said. "It will teach you itself. Use it wisely."

"Yes, I will," Allen promised as the dream faded.

"And Kazuya," Haniel said, in spite of the dream ending. "Please open your heart. We're waiting for you to return."

"What?" he mumbled. But he was already starting to wake up.

* * *

Even though it was a dream, he'd given his word that he'd take Allen by the Mesian school. He considered taking Jin along, but knew that he'd react badly when he heard where they were going. So he left Jin with the group's tactician, a man that seemed a good fellow and reasonable man. Since Jin needed better male role models, that should help him out.

While it was lighter than yesterday, it was still raining as they made their way to the private school. Kazuya had looked up weather reports and it seemed the rain wouldn't clear up until tomorrow. He'd also found news that other nations were now considering Japan to be a danger zone, quarantining them like a highly contagious patient. Although, that was a reasonable course of action with the demons around. He just hoped the other nations wouldn't go for more drastic measures like nukes.

The school made sure they were private, with a brick wall and iron gate keeping the buildings away from the surrounding city. Allen ran his card through the security box. Then they had to wait. "Usually it doesn't take this long," he said.

"They're probably being careful with the demons," Kazuya said. He'd already sent away Troll and the few others he'd recruited or fused in the past couple of days.

Then a crackle came from a hidden speaker. "Allen, who's the man with you?" a woman asked.

"This is Kazuya, a friend who's been looking after me lately," Allen said. "He's a rookie cop from Kichijoji."

"All right, please come in quickly." The gate clanked in unlocking and rolled aside automatically. "We're glad to see you back safe; please come to the front office first."

"Sure," he said, leading the way there.

They were told to wait there for the student counselor and headmistress to show up. From the looks of things in the hall, this school was keeping their classes going for the students that had managed to stay here. Glancing around, Kazuya saw a number of unfamiliar items, probably things important to the church: a listing of beatitudes (whatever that was), some common payers framed like pictures, and a carved wooden cross on the desk. He asked Allen about the beatitudes and got a long explanation that it was a list of blessings upon the meek, the lost, and others who were the least of all. It was a promise that they would be honored by God when judgment over all was given. With those bright cheerful eyes at explaining something he loved, Allen seemed like a very different person briefly.

By the end of that, the two staff members had come to see them. "We're glad you were able to make it back, Allen," the counselor said, shaking his hand in greeting. "There's still a few other students missing, but we've managed to keep our campus safe."

"That's good, but I haven't heard from anybody else," Allen said. He was already back to a meeker attitude, trying not to be trouble.

"There was a pair of girls from your school in Roppongi that I found yesterday," Kazuya said. "They're taking shelter in the mall, which is guarded. We're doing some searching now to check the local situation, but when we have time, we can see about getting them back here."

"Thank you, that would let us get news back to their families as well," the counselor said.

The headmistress nodded. "Yes, we decided to keep the students here; the families have agreed to that, as our nature as a Mesian school keeps our grounds safe. We can take him back into his class schedule now."

"Um, actually, I've been working with Kazuya and others to fight back against the demons," Allen said, stiffening his shoulders and trying to remain respectful. "I'd like to keep doing so if I may."

"Some of our older members are doing so, but you're still a student," the headmistress said. "You shouldn't be out there in the dangerous streets."

"It's fine, he's been a tremendous help," Kazuya said, then patted Allen's arm to encourage him. "Show them the sword you got."

"Oh, right, well," he put his hand on the handle. "I wasn't going to since I'd have to leave it here if I returned. But, I received this last night." He then drew out the sword, which quickly lit up in his hands. Earlier, he had said that its name was the Kodachi of Light.

Those who were in the office to see it gasped. "That, that must be a holy weapon to bear a light like that," the headmistress said, touching the handle in awe. The light dimmed due to that, only to return to brilliance when it was just Allen with it.

"I received it from an angel, who also blessed me with healing powers to help in these dark times," he said, replacing the sword back in its sheath. "So please, the angel asked me to do this; I must stay with Kazuya and help to fight back."

"He's really invaluable at this time, since doctors and nurses are scattered," Kazuya added.

"I see," the headmistress said. "Since you bear this holy sword as proof, we must believe you. All right, Allen, it seems that God is trusting you with this grave responsibility. We must trust you as well. We'll let the other students and teachers know; we'll all be praying for your success."

"Th-thanks, that means a lot to me," Allen said, looking overwhelmed at this. He rubbed at his eyes to keep from showing tears. "I'll do my best, for God and for all of you."

On their way out to the terminal in this district, Kazuya started feeling a sense of unease. It grew although no music was there to hint about what going. There were the usual demons in sight. Maybe an unusual one was nearby, stalking them? Then his chest tensed up and a feeling of alarm spread through his mind.

"Kazuya?" Allen asked, in worry, touching his shoulder.

"I'm okay," he said, the words a little hard to come out this time. "But Yuka's in trouble again. I know it; I have to go find her."

"You two are connected really deeply," Allen said, then jumped as something growled nearby. He nearly grabbed his kodachi, but then saw that Troll was flickering. "Huh?"

"Th-they will suffer!" Troll declared shakily. Then his skin began tearing down his face.

"No, come back," Kazuya said, recalling him. A glance at the summoning program showed that Troll's data had become garbled. "What a time for a glitch… let's get going."

To make matters easier, someone had gotten the terminal from the lab into the Shinjuku mall. Steven had to be involved in that, although Kazuya hadn't run into him if he'd come by. Not only had he made the demon summoning program, but Steven had to be an exceptional summoner himself just to have accomplished that with how handicapped he was. And he was still doing work on the program himself. The updates with Kazuya's tutorial and further enhancements (including the icon to the auto-map) had come out just his morning.

But none of that mattered! Kazuya hurried to the hideout, Allen keeping up with him. They found Jin near the stairs. "Hey, bad news," he said. "That, uh, the chick who could be an underwear model, the one that's showed up in the dreams."

"Yuriko?" he said, feeling angered.

Jin nodded. "Yeah. She appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Yuka, then vanished with her after a few words of gloating. She said she was going to execute her immediately in front of the Diet Building, on live television. And the networks are already sending out alerts about that."

"But he only felt a warning of that a couple minutes ago," Allen said.

"It seemed like she's had this getting set up all day," Jin said. "We going after her?"

"Of course, I think one of the exits here takes us a block or so away from there," Kazuya said, checking his auto-map for this mall. "Let's go."

"Right after you," Jin said, while Allen nodded and followed after them.

A number of demons got in their way, which was to be expected. What wasn't expected was who was waiting on them near the entrance to the government building grounds. He was someone infamous around Kichijoji. "Ozawa, back off now," Kazuya warned, keeping his gun at ready.

"Who are you to be ordering me around?" Ozawa asked, smirking at them. "Nobody's to get to the government plaza right now and I'm here to see to that personally."

"Well then it's just as well that you're here, because it's payback time for what you all did to me," Jin said, nearly as angry as Kazuya just meeting up with him.

"Wait, are you one of the skater punks from Kichijoji?" he asked. "You Turbos are following my orders now, understand?"

"Not me, I'll pound your face into the pavement," Jin said.

"Hey, we don't have to go that far," Allen said, mortified at the idea. Normally Kazuya would agree, but if he was keeping them from saving Yuka, he didn't care.

"I doubt you can," Ozawa said, ignoring Allen and opening up a slim comp on his arm. "I'm sure you can't take on this." He summoned a large amount of what seemed to be zombified soldiers, all carrying large guns of various kinds.

"Hah, no problem," Jin said, sending Maragilao into them and burning a good number away.

Kazuya ordered one of his demons to put up Rakukaja, for when those zombie soldiers began firing. Allen picked up on that and did the same. And just in time, as three of them opened fire with a wide spread of bullets. He felt a few strike his skin, but the magic kept them from piercing through. That was good. He then aimed his gun at Ozawa standing past the soldier smugly. Once he had a good shot, he fired and struck Ozawa's shoulder. It caused him to curse since he'd not put up similar defenses. He scrambled to flee before he could be injured further.

Thankfully, Jin didn't notice that. When they got the group of zombies cleared out, he looked out into the rain. "Ozawa! Damn, where'd you go, you coward!"

"It's going to be hard tracking down someone in this rain, but I managed to shoot him," Kazuya said. "I'm going in."

"Pah, I'll find him later," Jin said, spitting on the ground before coming in after them.

Despite the small amount of time since he'd felt the first signs of trouble, there was quite a crowd here. Large spotlights were cast upon the paved entrance where a white cross, of all things, had been set up. And Yuka was tied to it. Much of the crowd here were those involved in filming the execution, although a number of the militia soldiers were also there with riot shields and helmets.

He didn't care about any of that. "Yuka!" He hurried ahead in spite of his companions trying to warn him to be careful.

She lifted her head on hearing him, so she was alert. But then, that also got the attention of Yuriko who was standing nearby. "Don't you have any sense for timing?" she asked. "We're barely ready to broadcast; I haven't gotten to list this woman's crimes against Japan."

"I bet those are nothing but trumped up charges," Kazuya said, starting up the steps. "I know what you're up to; you just want her dead because I'm hers and she's mine. Well I'm not going to let you kill her."

"Hmm, I suppose you've got me there," Yuriko admitted. "Kazuya, you're mistaken. I'm the one meant to be your eternal partner, not her. But then you went and chose her in spite of all my efforts to get through to you. I just have to correct that mistake. Gotou would forgive her because she does what she does for the sake of Japan; he can understand that with an open heart. But I can't forgive her for taking you from me."

Kazuya aimed his gun at her, not caring that there were people all around them. "I said no to you from the very start, but you'd never accept that. My answer to you is never going to change: I don't want you and you should leave us alone."

"Sorry, it can't be that way," Yuriko said. "And the sooner you accept that, the better. But since you're here, I'll have to answer what seems like a challenge to a fight." She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, getting a number of strange ghosts to appear. "You can kill the other two boys, just incapacitate my Kazuya and let me take him away. It'll be..." she screeched in an inhuman way as a bolt of lightning struck her.

But that wasn't Jin or Allen. That was Yuka, escaped out of her ropes so she could join in. She was currently pulling herself up onto one of the arms of the cross as there was a pile of wood and brambles underneath her. "If someone says no, they mean no," Yuka said angrily. "Can't you accept that?"

"I will not be denied what I am promised again," Yuriko said, her face twisting up in a snarl as she turned to face Yuka. Kazuya wanted to help her, but the ghosts were ordered to incapacitate him. Besides, Yuka could handle herself. It'd be better for him to keep from being made helpless by the ghosts and snatched away by Yuriko, like she had done to Yuka.

By the time they'd cleared out the ghosts, Yuka was still perched on the cross and Yuriko was barely holding up. Seeing that her ghosts had been defeated, she stomped her foot down, broke the heel of her shoe, and had to vanish away, disappearing into the gray rain. Kazuya ran over; Yuka hopped off the cross in time for him to catch her. There was a loud crash as the spotlights suddenly went out.

"Yuka, are you okay?" Kazuya asked, hugging her tightly.

"I'm fine now," she said, putting her head on his shoulder.

Somewhere behind them, Allen hissed, "What did you do that for? You could have set the whole place on fire."

"Not likely in this rain," Jin said, trying not to be too loud either. "They had cameras, but I'm not gonna let them intrude on the two of them. Would you?"

"Well, no, but still." Past them, there were nervous chatter and anxious fears from having watched Yuriko be defeated.

"I knew you'd come after me, just like in my dreams," Yuka said quietly to him.

"Of course, I'm not losing you too," he said softly. "Sorry, but I think I should keep those two rascals from breaking out into their own fight."

She chuckled a bit. "Silly boys, I'm sure they'd get along better if they just listened to each other. But you're right, we can still use the help of both of them."


	8. Nuclear Thunder

To Steven:

I've run into a rather serious glitch that has messed up the Troll I fused the other day. He got really angry earlier today with no apparent cause; I was angry myself, so could it be an issue with MAG? Once he got angry, Troll started flickering like a ghost and a rip through his skin appeared down his face. We were not in combat at the time; the program didn't indicate any demonic attacker then. Since I had someone traveling with me, I recalled Troll to keep him from going berserk. All of his data in the program is now messed up. It doesn't seem to be affecting the other demons I have, whom I've recruited or fused in the past couple of days.

Any idea of what caused this, or what I can do about Troll? I feel really bad for him getting messed up like that.

From Kazuya

To Kazuya:

That is a very worrisome glitch; I'll get right on rooting it out to fix. We've had trouble with Dark aligned demons being difficult to negotiate with already. We don't want other demons to distrust the program and refuse to work with us.

There's a chance that it did have something to do with your emotional state, but I doubt that was more than a small weight upon what happened. More likely, the fusion of Orc and Gremlin creating the Troll seems suspect to me. I know the Heretic Mansion is working with new technology too. You may have run into a bad combination of errors in that technology and mine causing problems like that. From my look at your current roster, your other demons should be fine; this doesn't seem to be a spreading glitch, thankfully.

Although I'm not sure what exactly is behind this glitch, I've been able to recover the demon for you. Be careful with him for now, especially if he shows unusual mood shifts.

From Steven

To Steven:

I hope you can find a fix to it quickly. Only, you didn't recover Troll for me. I now have a Frost Giant who's much more powerful than any of my other demons. Strangely enough, he seems already loyal to me much like the Cerberus who was fused from my dog Pascal. He's agreed to fight for me and protect me. I will keep an eye on him, although if he has a mood swing, we could be in trouble trying to calm Frost Giant down.

From Kazuya

To Kazuya:

Oh dear. He was a troll when I sent him back to your comp. Looking at him again, I can tell that he's unstable now and may change forms yet again. But yes, his loyalty to you is extremely high. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies like that.

After consulting with the owner of the Heretic Mansion, we have figured out what's causing this unstable demon. You shouldn't have gotten Troll in the first place; that fusion should not have worked at all, so it is the main source of this glitch. In most cases of incompatible fusions, the most common result is a Gedou Slime. That demon should be relatively stable, not like your Troll turned Frost Giant.

The Heretic Mansion needs to do more work with their methods to make glitched fusions less likely, while I've done some work to try stabilizing glitched demons if they end up with a summoner. If you decide you can't handle him, you'd best be careful in how you dismiss him from your party. Finding some way to return him directly to the Abyss is probably the best option, as he might be able to stabilize himself there.

I hope nothing bad comes of this.

From Steven.

* * *

Another night, another dream.

This time, Kazuya ran into Yuka quickly. He smiled and went right over to her. "Yuka… it seems we're alone this time."

She laughed and drew him close. "Oh you. You're already with me, right next to me. We may not be legally married yet, but I'm sure the gods of the world would recognize our union."

"Of course, they'd have to be blind not to." Even as nice as that was, this didn't feel like that kind of dream. "But I feel there is something else to do besides just enjoying each other's company here. Do you feel like there's something you need to do?"

"Maybe, but it's something I should tell you," she said, turning solemn as she put her forehead on his. "I've been having this feeling the past few days, ever since I ate the apple you gave me, that our time together now will be short. Something will soon separate us; I was afraid that my capture yesterday was going to be it. I should have spent more time with you knowing that, but there's so much we need to do to keep Gotou and the Americans from making things even worse."

"It's okay, we're doing important things for others," Kazuya said. "Even if we do get separated, our souls are closely connected now. We'll find each other again, if not in this life, then the next."

"I know, but I want to be with you now," she said, her voice breaking. Kazuya hugged her tighter. "I was so happy that you'd choose me, especially meeting that woman for myself. But I know something else will try to divide us again, whether it's her or not."

"They won't succeed, I'll love you forever," he said.

The dream faded away shortly after that. But they were still together.

* * *

The next morning, Yuka called the group together for a meeting. "Given what happened yesterday, I think it's time we took some more drastic measures," she said. "Our tech people have already been working on something to help: an ID pass that will allow us past the military blockades. Today, I would like to use those fake passes to meet directly with Councilor Gotou and Ambassador Thorman. They've been threatening each other the past couple of days over television and radio. If they don't stop that soon, I'm afraid active battles will break out between the American soldiers and the militia forces. We will attempt to mediate the situation so that everyone eases up until we have a better footing in our struggles against the incoming demons. I plan to do this myself."

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" the tactical lead asked. "We still haven't located the higher up leaders, so you're still the main active leader in our resistance."

Yuka nodded. "I want to be direct and sincere with them. But don't worry, I don't plan on going alone. Kazuya, Allen, Jin, I'd like you three to accompany me on this mission. Although, please leave the negotiations themselves to me; my former work involved dispute mediation, so I know what to do."

"We'll protect you," Kazuya said, getting nods of agreement from Allen and Jin.

It took more convincing to get the others to agree. But at this stage, reducing the number of conflicts was important. Others in the group had identified where the two were staying, in protective bases with their forces keeping them defended. But with the pass, they should be able to get in to see them. After some discussion, it was decided that they should try the American ambassador first. Both places were accessible from the Shinjuku mall, although Thorman's base was a longer walk.

"How are we going to get them to take us seriously?" Allen asked. "You two are adults compared to me and Jin, but you're still kind of kids to people like Thorman and Gotou."

"The fact that we can reach them at all might help," Kazuya said. "And Yuriko did get the fight yesterday on live television, so they should listen to us for recognizing us from there."

Yuka frowned at the reminder of Yuriko. "She's not trustworthy, but I don't think she was exaggerating in that Gotou would recognize what we've been doing is for the sake of the people. For that reason, I think he'd be willing to talk peacefully with us if we, me in particular, were to approach him."

The pass did get them into the underground base the Americans had taken for themselves, an underground area connected to their old embassy. There were no demons when they got indoors, so the Americans were managing to keep their own safe zone. Around them, the soldiers were serious, discussing plans for something. Whether it was to keep the demons in check or to strike against the militia wasn't clear as the four of them didn't stick around. The Americans had a makeshift hospital in one of the larger rooms, caring for their wounded as well as a few civilians they had rescued.

In front of an elevator, a guard stopped them. "Hang on, aren't you from that local resistance group against Gotou's insurrection?" he said in surprisingly good Japanese.

Yuka nodded. "Yes, I'm the district leader Yuka, and these are some friends of mine who are acting as bodyguards. I would like to have a meeting with Ambassador Thorman, soon if possible."

"He has been interested in meeting you, so that should be fine," the guard said, taking out a chunky phone. It looked like it was designed to take a heavy beating, much like his comp. "Hang on a few minutes, we'll sort things out."

It didn't take that long as Thorman was quick to send a message to let them up to his office. It appeared as though they'd moved some things from the embassy to this more secure location. National flags stood in the corners, bookshelves were full of reference binders and files, and a good office desk sat near the back of the room. Thorman himself was dressed in a formal business suit despite the circumstances. "Ah, welcome to you all," he said, his grasp on Japanese rougher.

"Thank you for meeting with us, Mr. Thorman," Yuka said, bowing to him. Kazuya kept the other two off to the side, not blocking the doorway. That should be taken as less threatening. There was some music in his mind, but it was strangely faint. What was it?

"It was very upsetting to see they would go so far as a widely publicized execution," Thorman said. "I am glad you all came out of it well."

"Actually, that wasn't Gotou himself, but a rogue member of his faction that set that up," Yuka said. "We expect that Gotou himself will prove more reasonable. If I may get down to business, the reason we've come is to suggest a cessation of aggressions between the human factions in this situation, to both you and Gotou. Everyone has been scrambling to survive the past few days, thinking primarily of themselves or their loved ones. But we need to get started on restoring order and making Japan safe on a wide scale. Our group has found ways to combat the demons and we are willing to teach them to others to regain control of the situation. First, though, we all need to cooperate as humans to present a unified force against the demon invasion."

"Yes, that would be a lovely thing to have done," Thorman said. "But, there is a problem with this. You see, we came in because we got proof that this renegade Gotou is the one who brought the demons into your nation. We came here to bringing the situation under control quickly, because the presence of demons is threat to the entire world. But they came before we expected and have proven harder to fight than we first envisioned. We would be happy to extend protection to Japanese citizens; we are already working towards that. But the militia forces are striking at us whenever we try to help establish other safe zones."

It was the melody of Law, Kazuya recognized. Perhaps Thorman had contact with angels. Or perhaps not, given how faint it was. He might just be a Mesian, considering that the religion was more popular outside of Japan.

"We have noticed that you have soldiers protecting a few areas already," Yuka said. "If we go to talk Gotou down with his militia's aggressions, would you cooperate with them? At least while the threat of demons are around."

"We would," Thorman said. "But, be cautious in trusting Gotou. We have gotten information that states that he has been trying to summon one of the most powerful of the fallen, Lucifer, to back him up. If you get him in the mood for talking terms, make sure that he is to agree that he will not do so. Such a thing would be a grievous mistake."

"Yes, we wouldn't want that either," Yuka said. "We'll contact Gotou next, but I expect to be back so we can arrange things for a face to face meeting that's peaceful."

"Wonderful, I will be looking forward to that," Thorman said, smiling at them.

They remained quiet as they walked through the American base. Outside, Jin said, "At least he's acting agreeable. Don't know how far I'd trust him, though."

"He has some good points, but did he have to come into our country so forcefully?" Allen asked. "It was alarming when we had armed American troops in Tokyo without any warning. If he'd just stated his purposes up front, it would have made more sense, might have gotten people working with him."

"It is strange considering that he's an ambassador," Yuka said. "He should be aware of such issues, even if demons are a dire threat. What do you think, Kaz?"

Based on his intuition, the music, and his police training… "He's trying to sway us to his side," Kazuya said. "I wouldn't count on him having the interests of Japan and its citizens in mind. As long as he's willing to negotiate, we can work around him. But we should be alert to any new motions of the American forces."

"That sounds like how we should be for now," Yuka said in agreement.

About an hour later, delayed by demons and the rain, they came to the base in Ichigaya where Gotou was. The guards there were more suspicious of their pass. "Wait, aren't you that Yuka woman who's the resistance leader?"

She had them to back her up, so she replied confidently, "Yes, but I have come to open negotiations between the American ambassador Thorman and Councilor Gotou. The citizens are dying and these times are too dangerous for humanity to be fighting with each other. Could we see the councilor?" Meanwhile, Kazuya had to hold a hand out to Jin to not make any moves that would be seen as threatening. They'd fight if need be, but peaceful means were important now.

"Really?" a guard asked, surprised with the rest. "Erm, give us a moment." One guard remained to keep watch over them while the others left to discuss the matter, eventually calling in.

When they came back, it seemed good. "All right, Gotou has agreed to speak with you. We promise that we won't incarcerate or otherwise harm any of you while you are working on these negotiations."

"Thank you, we mean no aggressions ourselves," Yuka said.

Gotou's bunker was half office and half temple, with the soldiers kept stationed away from the leader's quarters. It had a more organized feel than the American base. But then, he would have had more time to set up here. The room they met him in was more of a meditation or martial arts practice room, with traditional scrolls on the wall and bamboo mats on the floor. There were also a great many strange markings all over the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. While Kazuya recognized a few as being similar to ones he'd seen in the Heretic Mansion, he had no clue what it was all about. Gotou himself was dressed more like he was doing traditional meditations rather than leading the country. In person, he looked much older and worn than his televised appearances.

"Welcome, young Yuka and her associates," Gotou said pleasantly to them, like any elder might to a young person. Kazuya noticed the Chaos theme playing here, although it was much stronger than what he'd heard with Thorman.

Yuka bowed to him. "Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice."

"Before we begin, I'd like to apologize for what happened yesterday," he said, bowing his head. "Those were not my actions, but those of a rogue unit within my militia. There's been a mystery woman named Yuriko who persuaded several units to ignore the chain of command."

"We suspected that was so," Yuka said, keeping a straight face in spite of things.

"Unfortunately, I don't have full control over the militia anymore," Gotou said. "We set up the blockades at first to prevent wide-scale riots, but that has led communications between districts to break down. It would take a significant amount of work to reconnect everyone and get transports moving again."

"That is part of what I wish to speak with you about. If I may?" He nodded. "Our group would like to suggest a cessation of aggressions among humans while we take back control over our city from the demon. We don't like that the American troops are here either, but since they are, it would be best if we can use their soldiers to help with keeping the demons in check. There is worry about supplies and lost loved ones everywhere in the city now. Until we stabilize ourselves and stop people from dying to demons, we should work together instead. I've already spoke with the American Ambassador and he seems willing to start negotiations, at least through us."

"Then you're already ahead of me in terms of that," Gotou said. "But, I cannot agree to work with him, or any foreign powers."

"It would be difficult to get them home at this point," Yuka pointed out. "And they would take the risk of demons escaping Japan with them. The invasion is restricted to our nation at the moment, but we should do what we can to limit the spread."

He shook his head. "That doesn't matter, for you see, the world is already against us. There is a secret plan that has been in the workings for years known as the Japanese obliteration plan. The rest of the world has been planning to get rid of us all along. Do you know why that is? It is because we are the most advanced nation that has the weakest holdings of the Mesian church."

At his side, Allen bit his lip and looked down. This was going to be rough on him to keep quiet. Kazuya patted his arm, trying to keep unnoticed by Gotou. At least Allen wasn't wearing his school uniform today.

Gotou went on. "I haven't revealed this much to the public, since I do not wish to start a panic. But the plan has gone far enough that America is poised to launch intercontinental missiles armed with nuclear warheads right at Japan. They are even more eager to do so with the demons that we have called out. Once they get rid of us, they plan to build the foundation of a thousand-year kingdom focused on their Mesian God right over our ruins. They say that all will be welcomed if they only believe, but what they do not say is that all who won't believe or even doubt in the slightest will be cast out into a nuclear wasteland, fated to eternal torment merely for not believing the same way they do."

Allen looked like he really wanted to speak up, but they didn't want to incite Gotou. He looked to Kazuya, briefly showing some upset at this. Jin rolled his eyes and looked away. "It's not so," Allen whispered to him.

"I believe you," Kazuya whispered back. At least, he was sure Allen wouldn't want that. He may have been a Mesian, but he was also Japanese like the rest of them.

"Did you really allow the demons into our nation?" Yuka asked. Remarkably, she was keeping a neutral tone. Kazuya was sure she'd prove to be infuriated once she wasn't in front of Gotou.

The militia leader seemed oblivious as he nodded. "They are going to be our greatest asset in defending ourselves. It's been a rough start, more than I wished for, but that will soon change. The trouble with demons is that they do not listen to others easily. One must first earn their respect. But we can get around this by bringing in someone they will absolutely respect. I am speaking of course of their leader, Lord Lucifer, whom I've already begun negotiations with to return him to the world."

Allen shut his eyes to that, while even Jin obviously thought this was a dumb plan. Ahead of them, Yuka was still trying to keep composed. "The demons are harming innocent citizens, sir; they're causing most of the problems we're experiencing right now. Who would demons even help? We're having to coerce and bribe them with technology and material goods that we still sorely need just to keep them from attacking us. Wouldn't calling their leader here make things worse? You even admitted that you don't control the militia anymore; how can you control the leader of all demons?"

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be easy to convince," Gotou said, reaching for something at his side. Kazuya braced himself to run for Yuka. "But I am willing to put my life on the line for the future of our nation. We will rise up to the heights we deserve, and you will be witnesses to how that will come to be."

Then he drew out a knife rapidly, drawing it across his own chest. It had a golden handle, like a ceremonial weapon. As he began dying, the melody in Kazuya's head grew oppressive. The markings all over the room began to glow with a hellish hue.

He grabbed Yuka as she was shocked to see Gotou's withered body fall into a fresh pool of his own blood. The blood began trailing out into the enigmatic lines. "We have to get out of here, now!" he ordered.

"What the hell was that about?" Jin asked as Yuka nodded and withdrew with him towards the door. "Is he seriously doing this to summon Lucifer?"

"Yes, I can feel it," Kazuya said, throwing the door open and hurrying the others out. He heard a hiss as he became the last one in the room, one that should be audible and worrying. As he left the room, the glow of the markings intensified. But they were already running for the exit. The guards outside yelled after them. Although this couldn't look good, he knew he had to get his allies out of that danger.

"He's really calling the devil into our world," Allen said, shaken by it. He was trying to keep strong, but none of them had expected that sacrifice to happen. "This is terrible, shouldn't we do something about it?"

"We can't right now," Kazuya said. "I know it's bad, but we're having a hard enough time with the demons that have gotten in already. I don't think we're capable of taking on Lucifer at this point."

"That may be beyond us for now," Yuka agreed. "Ugh, this is awful. I'm sorry guys, I thought they would be reasonable. And now we're not sure who's controlling the militia. Ozawa would be my best guess."

"He's injured, as I shot him in the shoulder yesterday to rescue you," Kazuya said.

"And then he ran away like a pansy," Jin said, still angry over that.

"Let's try talking with Thorman again," Yuka said. "We'll need him and his troops to keep order."

Back at the American base, they were quickly escorted back in. "How did things go?" Thorman asked.

"Not well," Yuka admitted. "He refuses to listen to any suggestions about working with foreigners. And he may be further along in his summoning in Lucifer than expected. He said he was willing to give his own life for that."

"I see, this is no good," Thorman said. "Would you be willing to help us eradicate the militia for good?"

She looked aside a moment; Kazuya felt bad for her since none of this was turning out right. "Some of them are bad, but not all of them. They're still our countrymen and we must stand behind the good ones."

"In that case, I will have to eradicate you with them," Thorman said, tugging at his jacket. There was a white flash and with no more warning, he transformed into a hulking giant of an ancient warrior. The very air of the room bristled with energy. "This demonic invasion will be stopped by any means, no matter how many must die!"

Yuka stepped back while they came forward. "Sir, we don't mean to..."

"No more negotiations," he said, waving his battle hammer at them. A loud crash sounded behind them. Kazuya glanced back and noted that there was now a magical forcefield around the door. They were stuck with this fight. "For the glory of God's thousand year reign, you will perish!"

"W-wait," Allen said, but got shot with a powerful burst of lightning as a result.

Jin got right up in this being's face, attacking with his axe; he got thrown into the wall hard enough to crack it. Kazuya called up on his demons Frost Giant, Dryad, and Angel to support them. They definitely didn't want to be facing this lightning being defenseless. Now behind them, Yuka used her own abilities to heal Jin and Allen. Although, the shock of getting attacked in the name of his own God was going to make it hard for Allen to keep his head in this fight.

"This isn't how God's reign is supposed to start!" Allen said in a panic. "I'm with the Mesian church, I go to their school. We're not supposed to sacrifice each other's lives; sacrifice is an abhorrent thing, by the oldest scriptures the church follows."

That distracted Thorman enough that Kazuya had a moment to check on his demons. He had an idea. If it worked, things might get easier on them. "Sacrifice for your God is a glorious thing. If you truly believe, you will be honored after death as a martyr. But still, I must stop all of you. I am Thor and no one escapes my vengeance."

"This isn't right," Allen said, bewildered and in tears. Kazuya quickly set Frost Giant to protect Allen for the moment.

"Wait, why are you with the Mesians?" Jin asked, unsteadily getting to his feet. "You're a Norse god, what the hell is this?"

"That doesn't matter," Thor, or whoever this was, said. "None of this will matter, as I have already sent the order to the American president to launch the nuclear missiles at Japan."

"What is this insanity?" Yuka asked in horror. "Why us? What did we ever do wrong?"

He snorted. "It would be senseless for you to learn that now, for you will simply perish before everyone else. Glory be to God!" He then raised his hammer and struck the floor forcefully, knocking them all off their feet.

Fortunately, Kazuya had his plan ready. He used his comp to order Dryad to use Marin-Karin. She waved to him and blew a kiss at him. It was odd to think of her as attractive as she had bark all over her skin, with a dress made of leaves. But the charm spell worked. Thor got flustered and his next hammer blow hit himself.

"He's enthralled for now, but don't let up," Kazuya said to encourage the others. "We should at least be able to defeat him." In their final moments, perhaps, but… this wasn't the moment to dwell on that.

Fortunately, his companions agreed to the idea. Allen drew his kodachi now, ready to fight back as well. "This is wrong, whoever you are! The God I have faith in is loving and would not do this!" He slashed at Thor with a powerful strike. Even though Allen was physically weaker than the rest of them, his weapon was just as capable as the axe that Jin had.

By the time dryad's enthrallment ended on Thor, Jin was able to strike the last blow to kill him. "What now?" Jin asked, trying to act tough. "Did he really call nukes on us?"

"It'd be hard to say here," Kazuya said, starting to check the desk to see if there was a document left around.

Yuka caught his hand, causing him to look at her.

There was a tremendous explosion; everything melted into white.

Hardly thinking, Kazuya went right to Yuka and kissed her.

He felt himself disappearing.

"We're all going to die if we do nothing," Yuka said to him, pulling back briefly. "You at least should survive."

What was she thinking? "No wait," he said, gripping her hand tight and not wanting to let her go.

"There is something you must do still," she said, then cast some kind of spell

He felt like he was blown away from her by a massive gust of cold wind. "Yuka! No!"

But she was gone. They were all gone. Maybe, even he was gone?

Why? Was there something different he should have done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I have been changing a few bosses for consistency, especially on the Chaos side of things. However, I just had to keep the extremely Lawful Thor who triggers the nuclear apocalypse. It's a bizarre shock, though that's only a prelude to how weird things become.


	9. Ancient Dreams

In the distance, someone was fighting. Demons, probably. Kazuya thought about finding out, but he couldn't find the motivation to. He'd never felt so alone before. Somewhere in his heart, he knew Yuka was dead. He should be dead too. So then why was he still thinking? If she was gone, he was lost. What reason was there…

Dirty feathers scattered about his mother's room, the struggle that must have taken place there… why hadn't any of them heard anything? Not even Pascal, who had been sleeping in Kazuya's room, had noticed something going wrong. It had been a real struggle the past few years, first losing his father and then his mother fell terribly ill. But he had encouraged her as best he could, helped her when her chances of survival were slim. They had emerged from that dark time in their lives and were looking forward to a much brighter time once he got married to Yuka.

And then his mother had died so… so needlessly. Had she been the one to open the window or had that been the demon's doing? The scene took on a teary blur, and then shifted...

There was a stone marker at the head of the grave, right at the edge of this clearing where taller grasses swayed. Yuka was there with him, except, something wasn't quite right. While he didn't recognize this place, there was a feeling that he knew it. One of their sons was dead, but it was more like they'd lost two. He'd done his best to help them get along, but perhaps it was something they'd done years ago that led to this… and the strange scene faded, leaving him with a terrible weight of regret and guilt. But why?

The chatter and bustle of schoolchildren startled him in the wake of that heavy silence. Kazuya found himself in the primary school of Kichijoji, in familiar halls that he had once walked. In contrast, none of the children seemed familiar. No wait, there was a boy with thick glasses at the shoe lockers. Jin's uniform and shoes seemed worn, like hand-me-downs.

"Hey four eyes, I hear you've got a dorky braces too now," another boy mocked him.

"Shut up," Jin said; he did have braces at this time.

He wouldn't stop. "Hard to believe your mom could afford them since she's an unmarried hag."

"Don't talk like that!" Jin snapped, punching the other boy in the face. One of the teachers had to step in to stop the two of them from fighting. They were both punished harshly for it not being their first altercation in school.

In another sudden shift, Kazuya found himself watching as a ghost as an older Jin was in a messy house with the other young teens that made up their gang of skateboarding punks. "It's just gonna be another scam," he said to the one boy that was older than him in this group. "They'll tell us to study their shit and make us give them money that'll just go to padding their pockets. It's just the same as that Mesian scam at the core."

"No way these Gaeans are completely different," the older boy said, going to slap Jin in a way that made him put his hand to his glasses to protect them. "How can you be such an idiot to not see that?"

"How can you guys be such idiots to believe them?" Jin said in anger. "They're aiming to use and ruin people too."

"But they said they were going to summon Lucifer and wreck all the jerks that try to control the world for their own gain," another boy said.

"Who needs dumb old gods and devils that can't do anything by themselves?" Jin said. "We can make a name for ourselves with our own power, and make the world better for our presence."

"So says the weakling who can't even lift a hundred pounds," the older boy said, getting the others to laugh.

"Well if you all are going into this, I'm out entirely!" Jin claimed. There was something of a whisper that only Kazuya heard, "I've already lost my family to jerks like that, so I'm not going to wait around for you guys to become dumb sheep too."

Then Kazuya was back in the grassy clearing. While the stone marker was no longer there, Jin was. He was dressed far differently, in simpler clothes that weren't modern at all. "You did love your mother," Kazuya said. "Do you still love her?"

There was a flicker when he was in his modern clothes. "That doesn't matter anymore, they're all gone," he said bitterly. But with that grimace, he was crying. "She's not even my real mother; she thinks I don't know but… she's still the one who cared about me, up until..." Then he was back to the older clothes. "I don't like being compared to others. I did my best, but it wasn't enough. No matter what it is, it's never enough."

"He's made mistakes too," Kazuya said, although he wasn't quite sure why he was saying that.

"It doesn't seem like it when he's held up like the flawless chosen one that I can't ever measure up to," Jin said, then turned to look out into the vast moonlit plains. "I know it's dangerous, but I like being out here at night. Seeing the wind sweep across the fields, the moon and stars shining out of the darkness… doesn't it feel like they could speak to you and teach you things that the daytime would never reveal?"

Before he could respond, the scene shifted to another group of kids at a playground. "I hear his mother is evil, so he's got to be evil too," one of the boys said, scaring or delighting the other kids with him. They all proceeded to ignore the kid in question, and Kazuya felt like that was going to go on for a very long time.

That kid was Allen; he cried as a result of their teasing and went to one of the teachers watching over them. But his request to go back inside for recess was refused. Instead, he was given a small book and told to study if he wasn't going to play. The vision flickered and there was Allen again, still studying those scriptures instead of socializing with classmates. He was completely absorbed in it, smiling and relaxed in an armchair in the library.

That changed as soon as the bell rang. Allen tensed immediately, his smile turning to worry as he had to get to his next class. A pair of girls hurried by him. "Man, scriptures class is so boring," one of them muttered. "I so want to tell my parents that I don't believe any of this and want to go to a normal school, but they'd completely freak over that."

"I know, same for me," the other girl said.

"How many people in this school actually believe?" Allen asked to himself. "Even some of the teachers..."

Then they were in one of the teacher offices; the teacher glared at him sternly. "That was not what you were assigned to do."

Allen went to rub at his teary eyes, but got a silent rebuke for that and took hold of his crucifix necklace instead. It kept him from withering immediately under this pressure. "B-but it was," he said. "You s-said to give a speech on my thoughts about the New Psalms, and that's what I did. I, I really don't think they compare to the Old Psalms, they feel more like they're trying to condemn readers instead of inspiring them to think, and..."

"That was not the intention of the assignment," the teacher insisted. Kazuya had a feeling that this teacher never explained that or other rebukes to Allen, a complete failing on the teacher's part.

"But God is my constant support," Allen said softly, taking it for his own failing. "My… only support. These New Psalms written in the seventeenth century, they don't sound anything like Him." Then it was just Kazuya and Allen, in the clearing by daylight. Like with Jin, Allen was now dressed in simpler clothes, without the crucifix. "I just wanted to help him, but he yelled at me like I'd suggested something terrible. Did I?"

"No, it's good that you want to help your brother," Kazuya said, although the statement immediately confused him. As far as he knew, they weren't brothers. Unless... "But he's determined to prove himself, so he doesn't see it that way."

"I want to help people like you do," he said, shifting back to his Mesian school uniform. "But I feel like I haven't met anyone who believes like I do. Am I wrong, or just strange? I want to help you find the truth, find your way." Then he shifted back. "God has been very generous with us, but I worry about the voices of spirits out here. They say troubling things."

And then Allen was gone; it was a stormy sunset and that grave marker was back. The wind blew across the grass and faintly whispered, "Come back, Kazuya."

Yuka put her arm around his back, resting her head on his shoulder. "How did we fail them?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"What is the meaning of this all?" Kazuya asked back, closing his eyes. Thunder rumbled overhead and he felt a chill in the air.

"Come back."

But would there be anything left to go back to if he could? Did he want to go back, to do whatever he could? Even if the ones who had stood with him were no longer there. It was a responsibility he'd accepted. But had he already failed it in being unable to stop Gotou and Thorman?

Something wet and fuzzy nudged his cheek, warm breath like that of an animal. Pascal? Kazuya opened his eyes and found himself in an even stranger place. But, more beautiful, peaceful. It was a deer that had nosed him. When he reached up to pet her head, she didn't flee or act nervous. He was sitting with his back against a tree's trunk, as if he'd fallen asleep there.

Something didn't feel right. He felt a mild happiness, but his thoughts didn't feel right. It didn't feel like himself. Frustratingly, he couldn't put a finger on what was bothering him. But he could just let his mind fall into this peaceful place and never worry about a thing again. Not even… things he couldn't remember…

Yuka leaned over and put her hand on his shoulder. Kazuya looked up and smiled at her; this felt right. But then she whispered something to him.

"Go back. You must help them. There was something more to be done."

* * *

"Have you recovered yourself fully, Kazuya?" Stephan asked.

"I think so," he said, turning to him again. This had been unlike any other awakening. And this man, it almost like he wasn't the same man. And yet, Kazuya was pretty sure somehow that it was the same Steven. "I don't know what to do or what I'll come back to, but I should do something if I still can."

"That's good," Stephan said. "And don't worry, you will find the three who had been with you when you return."

"Good," he said, feeling a huge wave of relief at that. And as he said it, he knew Yuka would be there. Maybe he'd been mistaken in the shock of it all.

"It's important that none of you give up," he said, shifting his cloudy glasses. "But, perhaps most so on yourself right now. The others who were fighting with you just now are those who have followed in your footsteps, whether they realize it or not. If not for you, none of them would have accepted the difficult paths they took."

He smiled a bit at that. "You sure about that? Those guys all outclassed me, even the kid. I don't think I was contributing anything to the effort."

Stephan smiled back. "Don't be too hard on yourself. They were all towards the end of their journeys as they were called into the Diamond Realm. You're barely past starting off. Plus, you've been working with a version of myself far in my past. He is not aware of as much and is still getting used to things, plus the technology that most of the others were using was perfected, or nearly so. You have worked with my Demon Summoning Program from its very beginning, back when I hadn't quite connected my research with the common level of knowledge among people. You're doing very well, all things considered."

"Thanks, but how do I get back to my Tokyo?" Kazuya asked.

"I'll have to send you to another layer of this realm to reach the exit, to Kongokai," Stephan said. "You'll need to deal with a man named Euno there. He may seem bristly and unhelpful, but he will be guiding you towards reuniting with your friends and soulmate. The souls of Allen and Jin are wandering that level and they'll need to be recovered as well. But, you shouldn't have to do what we had to do to get you back."

"Well that's good, I don't want to end up in a fight against you again," he said, making Stephan chuckle.

* * *

In another dream shift, he ended up in a small room with another old man. Kazuya wouldn't be surprised to learn this was a dream realm too. It had the same crystalline blue walls as the other place, although these dreams were more wavy or misty blues and pinks. This man had every appearance of being a wandering hermit: old worn clothes, a walking staff, a long scraggly beard.

"Welcome, Kazuya," he said, warmer than he'd expected out of Stephan's words. "I heard about you. You seek the souls of your two companions?"

"Yes, Allen and Jin, or Yuji and Takeshi if you need their birth names," he said.

"They are here within these walls," Euno said, gesturing with his staff out the door. "But first, would you draw me some soma? There is a spring that flows with those magical waters nearby, but it's not a continual flow. You'll have to catch it at the right time and gain enough to fill this flask." He then handed over a glass bottle with a cork in the top.

"All right, where's the soma spring?" he asked, accepting the bottle.

"I'll have my servants open the way to those halls, but it is a maze out there," Euno said. "But then, you have arrived in one locale within the afterlife. If you wish, there is a door to pass onto more elysian areas. But should you pass through that door, you will not return to life as you are now."

"I have things to do in the world still," Kazuya said. "So do they. I'm sure they feel the same and will want to go back to Earth with me."

"You can try, but the world will not be the same as you remember it," Euno warned. "It will be your world, but completely changed due to the nuclear strikes."

"I'm aware of that already," he said. "I'll be back with the soma then."

"Take care, and think carefully upon where you really truly want to go," Euno said.

Euno's servants were strange looking demons, but they were courteous and polite. They offered him healing and food should he need it, then opened a door to the south for him. This time, he had his comp with him. It turned out a good stroke of luck because not only were these halls winding and confusing (requiring the auto-mapper), but they were full of demons (requiring the summoning program). But a few other demons were not hostile. They even gave him directions to the soma springs without requiring anything in exchange.

But when he got there, it wasn't flowing. Not even the rock pool below had any moisture. Since he'd have to wait, he decided to sit in that area and eat what the servants had given him. So Jin and Allen were here, but what about Yuka? She lived, he knew that in his heart. But finding her… well, if he knew she was alive, he had a hunch that he could find her, one way or another.

He had nearly drifted off to sleep thinking over fond memories of Yuka when a trickle of water startled him. The spring had started up again, starting to spill over into the pool. He waited a moment for the flow to get stronger, then pulled out the bottle and took off the cork. Something about the soma water was soothing to his skin as bits of it splashed while he tried to fill the bottle. Was it some restorative? That could make sense of why Euno had sent him after this before finding his friends.

Once he had it full, he corked it back up and set it in a secure pocket of his bag. It was valuable enough that he didn't want to set it into the item storage of his comp and have that glitch up again. Then he headed back. This time, he tried to negotiate with more of the demons. With the bottle full of soma, he didn't want to risk it breaking if a demon turned out very physical in their aggressions. A fair number of them were intimidated by Frost Giant, which helped in getting back safely.

He had to uncork it to prove to Euno that it was soma. "Ah, that is a good sample of it," he said. "It would be nice to drink, but you need it more. Now, are you still wiling to return to your world?"

"Yes," he said.

"And you're sure your friends will too?"

"Yes."

"All right, then I'll let you into the inner halls where their souls wander," Euno said. "When you find them, talk to them to make sure they're focused and that they recognize you, then sprinkle them with a handful of soma. They will return here where I can regenerate them fully."

"Sure, I'll do that," he said. Perhaps this Euno required proof of determination before he would do a major favor. If this was the afterlife, it couldn't be easy to restore them back to reality.

In the inner halls, he knew there would be less space. But it still felt sprawling and never ending. The walls were the same everywhere. Even the appearance of doors and turns didn't make for good landmarks. But in searching around, he found a red orb of light drifting through the air. It wasn't the same as their dreams, but he was sure that was Jin's soul.

"I shouldn't have to always fail," Jin muttered. "I've got to get my lucky break someday. I'll make it so they all respect me, when I can grant the wishes of all the other victims of the world's cruelties."

"Jin," Kazuya called, coming close to the drifting soul. "Jin, we have another chance."

"I want another chance," he mumbled.

"Jin, listen to me," Kazuya said, waving a hand near him.

"Hmm? Kaz? Oh, there you are. I thought I was alone, blasted away when everything went white. Good, but what about Yuka?"

"She's alive somewhere, I'm sure of that," Kazuya said, taking out the soma bottle. "You need to be restored, so focus on your desire to get back home. We'll get there."

"Yeah, I know it," Jin said. Kazuya poured the soma into this hand and dribbled it over the red soul. Once he'd poured that over him, he vanished. He'd be back with Euno now.

Now, for Allen. Given how things went in these places, he left the area he was in, setting out for the opposite hallway. The instinct proved right as he came across a drifting blue soul in that area. "It's not right, I know God would accept everyone," he said. "I don't want to believe that He'd do this. Why can't I make them see that? What must I do to get them to believe too, so they can be saved?"

"Allen, over here," Kazuya said. He tried waving near him too.

That worked. "Hmm? Oh Kazuya, what a relief. This place seems endless. It's good that you're here, but what about your Yuka?"

"She's alive, we just have to find her," he said. "You need to be restored before we can go back home, though. Focus on your desire to get home, and I'll help."

"Yes, I want to get back to everyone and protect them as I should," Allen said, a sentiment Kazuya felt deeply. He poured out some more soma for Allen and sprinkled that over him. When he disappeared, Kazuya dried his hand off and checked his comp for the map back.

Back in the central area, he was glad to find things quiet. Allen and Jin simply weren't talking to each other right now; perhaps Euno's presence helped to stifle conflict. "Ah, you're back," Euno said. "You may keep what soma you didn't use; it's a refreshing drink. Now, you all are certain of returning? Your city has become a dangerous place."

"It was a dangerous place when we left," Kazuya said.

Allen nodded. "Yeah, and we all have responsibilities back there. There's things I need to do still."

"Yeah, it'd be lame to give up with just that," Jin said.

"I agree with both of them," Kazuya said. "We're going back, not matter what we may face."

"I just need you to be absolutely certain," Euno said. "Otherwise, your souls may be lost to stranger realms forever. If you're willing to risk that, take the door to the east. I will have my servants standing by to unlock it if you go there. Otherwise, there is always the door to the west if you wish to find peace, or staying here if this place suits you somehow."

"We'll make it, thanks," Kazuya said. "Let's go, guys."

"Right with you," Allen said.

"Sure," Jin said, avoiding looking at Allen.

When the door was opened for them, it felt like being drawn into a terminal. The blues of the Diamond Realm shifted to reds, yellows, and grays before settling into a city street. But as they'd been warned, it wasn't a city like they knew. This was a city of ruin. Huge swaths of buildings had been returned to dust. A few still stood, with windows long blown out and weeds growing through. The streets were cracked beyond recognition. A few young trees could be seen amid the ruins. Demons crawled about in view, but no humans were around. According to the auto map, they were near the Shinjuku mall.

"Is this real?" Jin asked.

"This is apparently Tokyo," Kazuya said. "Actually, where we left the world, just, the building's completely gone."

Allen put his hands to his mouth. "It did really happen. But when are we now? It looks like this has been ruined for a long time."

"Let me see," he said, opening his comp to see about updating the time via satellite. It took longer than he was used to, during which the others kept looking around.

"The giant screen is still up over there," Jin said. "Looks like it's even working."

It finally updated. "We're… thirty years ahead? There's not even any news or software updates." There a beep that corrected him. "Other than a big one for the summoning program." He set that to run since he relied on it and trusted Steven.

"But, thirty years?" Allen squinted his eyes, putting his hand to his head. "That means, everyone we knew from school or otherwise would be way older that us. And a lot of people are probably gone from this. This is..."

"It was bound to happen," Jin said, although he wasn't looking at either of them. "The place got nuked! We'll be lucky if we run into any amount of humans."

"Yuka's around, somewhere," Kazuya said, wondering where he'd find her and in what state he'd find her in. She'd been in the building that was no longer around them.

A sharp splitting pain ripped through his head, smashing his thoughts to pieces. "Kaz, please, if you're out there..." the voice of a young woman said.

"Whoa, you okay?" Allen asked, taking his arm. It was lucky since he felt his knees were weak and he might collapse. Allen tried healing him.

"You look awful all of a sudden," Jin said, worried too as he turned to them.

"Kh-Yuka..." he said, grabbing Allen's hand for support. "I have to find her, I..." he tried to go ahead, but nearly fell.

"Hang on, get a hold of yourself first," Allen said. He looked over at Jin, hesitated, then asked, "Jin? Could you, uh, check if the underground mall is still open? He might need an actual painkiller instead of just my magic. I'll stay with him."

"Sure, but I'm doing this for Kaz," Jin said, then ran off down the street to the nearest entrance.

"Just sit down for a bit, I should still have some bottled water," Allen said. "Um, the sidewalk's just over here. You won't be able to get anywhere like this."

He nodded and did as advised. What was going on with Yuka? He couldn't even tell this time if she was in danger, or what was happening. And, why was her voice young? Had she died, only to be reborn? She hadn't appeared in Kongakai with them and he was pretty sure it was her magic that saved them.

"Actually, I don't think Jin's a bad guy," Allen said, now that he was gone. "He's just, his language is so coarse and he has a quick temper. I always get really nervous around people like that."

Kazuya didn't feel like he could respond properly yet. "It's how gang kids are," he said. "Was a bunch in Kichijoji."

"Do they think it makes them cool, as a group?" Allen shrugged. "But, he's far from the only person to tease me for being how I am. Even a few at school got after me."

He shrugged, not able to think of much else. He should be able to; he was needed. "His group was protecting other kids, so I'm sure he's good too. Just, I don't think he's had any good mentors he could rely on for long, so he doesn't know how he should act."

Clutching his crucifix, Allen said, "I had the scriptures for guidance; everyone up until my Yuka, and then you and your Yuka, they were all harsh to me."

"I think you two are more alike than you think," Kazuya said, then closed his eyes. "Sorry, I don't know what's going on with me right now. Just, Yuka's calling me..."

"I think I can keep the demons away, at least," he said, putting his other hand on the crucifix and praying silently. Something changed around them, a pure chime and faint tingle that did seem to keep the demons from approaching them.

Then Jin came back with the medicines. "You guys should come see what's up," he said as he handed the bottle of aspirin over. "It's really weird down there."

A few minutes after he'd taken the aspirin, Kazuya felt like he could get up and walk on his own. He didn't think he could fight on his own, so he sent out Dryad, Angel, and Frost… no, he was now Dervish. Still loyal, so he would help protect them. The entrance to the underground mall looked patched up. A person wearing a police uniform and carrying a baton was standing at the entrance. "Hey, hey, we don't mind summoners, but no demons inside the mall, all right?"

"Yeah, but we had to get over here," Kazuya said, dismissing his demons.

"All right, now stay out of trouble here or we'll beat you up," the cop guard said.

"That's not how you do things," Kazuya said.

"No, that's how we do things, so shut up and be glad we're keeping this place safe," the cop argued.

He didn't feel like continuing the argument, especially if it brought his headache back. They descended into the mall itself, which was kept in decent enough shape. The walls were patchy, with different colors every now and then. Crudely made signs pointed out where shops, bars, the disco, the Mesian church, and the Gaean temple were. There was also a sign to where the housing district was down here.

And the people were much different from what Kazuya was used to. They looked pale, save for the wandering cops and a few others that must have gotten outside regularly. Many of them were dirty too, wearing long stained up robes or old clothing. Only the cops and the shopkeepers had clean uniforms here. And his comp indicated that their guard against demons was not perfect. There were a few zombie types roaming among them, like bodyconians and something called a maneater. The locals stared at the three of them like they were complete strangers. Which, they were, just from thirty years ago.

"There's a gun shop over there, if we want to pick some up too," Jin said.

"You have to be careful with those," Kazuya said. "But, I can give you guys some lessons outside later on if you want."

"I never thought about using a gun before," Allen said. "My sword's good, but I think I should really be staying back since I can heal and boost you guys, unless the kodachi would be best. Maybe I should."

"I think they'd be useful," Jin said. "So what now? We should find out where Yuka is."

"I'd like to see if the terminal is still where it was," Kazuya said. "Then, we should probably go around and ask people questions. Figure out more about this time and what's going on around Tokyo at least. It doesn't seem like we'll get information on the world from my comp."

"They're going to find us suspicious for asking too many questions, Jin said.

"I think they already think we're suspicious, dressed like we are," Allen said.

"It won't hurt to be careful, but information is important to have," Kazuya said.

They went to where Kazuya's automap had the terminal located. And as he thought, it was still there. It had been left as he remembered it, save for some dust and handmade charms to keep out bad spirits. He did what he could to move them aside without breaking them. The terminal still responded to his comp, listing the locations that Steven had given him to move around the city previously. Where would Yuka be? He wanted to try to see if he could sense her by their connection as soulmates. But he'd rather make sure he was in a secure place before trying that.

Reluctant, he left with Allen and Jin to ask around. People were suspicious of them, up until they said that they were fighting the demons and needed more information. Then they were willing to talk. Apparently Ozawa ruled over this town, much to Jin's displeasure. He had turned the militia into this brute police force that kept order through intimidation and beatings, very much like he had tried back in Kichijoji. But he did keep demons out of the underground mall, for which most people tolerated them. Still, there were rumors that he brainwashed people who were too troublesome. A few people in the housing area did seem strange, hallucinating lights and talking about things that didn't make sense even with demons around.

Like before, there wasn't a lot of communications between districts of Tokyo. Shinjuku, for one, was kept with tight borders by Ozawa. Some said that trying to escape to lead to being shot, even killed. But a lot of people tried. Roppongi in particular was said to be some kind of peaceful paradise these days, with a strong shield against demons and an apparently hedonistic culture. Shibuya, apparently the stronghold of the Mesian Church right now, was said to also be peaceful and mostly safe. But it seemed angels were frequently seen there and some people feared those angels.

There were other places too where people gathered. Apparently Destiny Land had become even more of a dream-like getaway, if you could access the place at all. The Mesians had control over the Radio Tower and broadcast their teaching all day and night. And the Gaeans had taken Ikebukuro, a place where apparently people were captured on strange charges and taken to jail to never be seen again. Somewhere (but no one knew where), the Mesians were said to be building a Grand Cathedral. A lot of Shinjuku's residents talked about wanting to go out and help, if only for some work.

There was no word about the resistance group that Yuka had led, nor any hints about a similar group that tried to protect all of Tokyo rather than just the separate towns it had become.

Eventually, one of the cops came for them. "Hey, you new guys," he said. "The boss wants to speak with you."

"Ozawa?" Jin asked, barely keeping the bitterness out of his voice.

The brute cop smirked. "Yeah, but don't you be rude to the boss or he'll mess you up good. Come on, this way."

"Let's see what he has to say," Kazuya said, although he was torn on how to handle this. Ozawa was clearly keeping people safe and supplied. But the cops, they were a disgrace to the name. They should have been suspended for their behaviors, even in what they shouted at the citizens. What was right to do here?

The brute cop brought them to a shop in one of the corners; a staircase led to an upper level that was intact. The newness of it suggested that Ozawa had it built sometime in the past few years. If he could do that, why not find a way to give people homes aboveground, if only to have some sun? He wasn't sure how the radiation was; he was pretty sure that was not the reason he'd gotten such a bad headache.

In a very nice office that would have competed with Ambassador Thorman's, they met with a much older Ozawa. Actually, he looked like he had aged a lot more than thirty years, with thin gray hair and wrinkles on his face. One of his shoulders wasn't sitting right, the one that Kazuya had shot. But he still tried to dress impressively, showing in every way that he had power. "Who are you kids?"

"Are you saying you don't recognize us, Ozawa?" Jin asked in hostile tones.

"Hold on, we can be civil," Kazuya said to him, making him snort. "I'm Kazuya, and this is Jin and Allen. We're demon hunters." That explanation came so naturally.

"Mesians?" Ozawa asked.

"Only Allen," Kazuya said.

"And I'm finding that I don't agree with some of them," he said, perhaps thinking this might help right now.

"I don't know why, but you punks seem kind of familiar," Ozawa said. "That kid's coat certainly brings up some memories." Jin scowled, but didn't respond right off. "Where did you come in from? None of my border guys reported anyone coming through the lines."

"Magic, that's all we'll say," Kazuya said. "Why are you allowing your cops to be so brutal with the people? That's not right."

"But it works," Ozawa said. "If we didn't keep them in line, they'd be scampering off and getting themselves into all kinds of danger. It's a dangerous wasteland out there, too deadly for most to navigate. There's so few humans left here in Tokyo, perhaps even in the whole world since they went silent to us. So I do what I must to keep them safe and secure."

"You're making excuses still," Jin said. "You're still the same thug you were thirty years ago, just scum that doesn't deserve power."

"Hang on, now what would any of you know about thirty years ago, before the nukes fell on Japan?" Ozawa asked. "If you're trying to start up some new gang, then I'm going to have to ask you to stop." And he'd back that up with force, that was clear.

"He is right in that you're just another scumbag thug who lets abuses of the people get out of control," Kazuya said. Allen even nodded to that.

"Is that what you think?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "Hmph, you kids don't know anything. Here, let me show you what real power is. Master Scylla! Please come show these brats their place."

A bolt of lightning struck the center of the room, heralding the appearance of a large hybrid monster, one with a dozen snake heads coming out of a heavily armored crab body. Some of her heads hissed; others barked and at least three said, "Of course, leave it to me."

"So you're just some demon's bitch, huh?" Jin asked, making Ozawa's eye twitch.

They tried to fight Scylla, but were quickly blown clear out of the room by a powerful wave. "Well now," Ozawa coughed, "we have to rebuild that wall again. They're dead, right?"

"No," Scylla hissed. Sparks appeared over the remaining water.

Kazuya grabbed his companions. "Let's go," he hissed.

"But," Jin said, then nodded and ran back to the drenched stairs with them. The cop who'd brought them up there yelled at them to stop, but he just got shoved aside, into the pursuing bolt of lightning. They were going to have to find some other way to handle this.


	10. Striking the Wedge

"Damn, why can't I ever get the best of him?" Jin grumbled as they got downstairs to the main floor of the Shinjuku shelter.

"Why was Scylla more powerful than that supposed Thor?" Allen asked. "It's weird, even knowing that Thor was probably fake."

"Who knows," Kazuya said, checking his demon stock. "I could probably do some fusing and try to get a more powerful demon to back us up. Maybe we could buy some new armor, that is, if they'd sell to us."

"That's..." Jin started to say, then turned and grabbed him. "That's it! Kazuya, fuse me with a demon."

"What?" Allen asked in shock. "But, but that's..."

There was that clash of melodies in his mind, which hurt this time. Grimacing, he glanced back to make sure they weren't being immediately pursued. Then he nudged them out of Ozawa's office area. "Let's get to the armory first, before word gets down to them."

"You can't fuse yourself with a demon," Allen said, trying to keep his voice low although his posture suggested he wanted to yell. "That's a crazy idea. You'd no longer be human and only human souls can be saved from eternal suffering. Besides, demons are the tempters and tormenters of mankind; they're the ones who invaded our world, even if they had help. Kazuya has a really strong will to resist that when he can talk with them, but fusing with one would just, it'd corrupt you into an evil being."

"I know I won't be human anymore, but that won't matter to me," Jin said, shifting his glasses. "Allen, you won't ever get it, not unless you've lived through what I have. I can decide I won't be a victim anymore, but I have no power to actually follow through. It just makes me a loser like so many others, which I hate, I want to be better. I won't stop until I can be who I want to be, and having a demon's strength would let me do that."

"That can't work, they'd just overtake you or something," Allen said.

"But it didn't work that way with his dog," Jin argued.

"Quiet, both of you," Kazuya said, holding back on his temper. "I only fused Pascal to save his life. And once you do something like that, you can't go back on it. I have no idea what that'll actually do to you. The owner of Heretic Mansion doesn't even know how things work entirely. I do know that fusion mistakes can end badly, at best as a slime, so are you really sure about this?"

That caused Jin to pause. "Well, I wouldn't want to end up as a slime. But then, how are we going to beat that monster?"

"We could just ignore Ozawa," Allen suggested. "He's keeping the people here safe."

"No he's not, he's keeping them trapped here with brutality," Jin said.

And both of them were right. Before he could figure out how to handle this, there was a sharp whistle from behind them. "Hey, strangers! Get back here! We're going to crush you for disturbing the peace!"

At this point, it barely felt like he'd taken any painkillers at all. "Come on," he said to his companions, running down the hall.

"What, why?" Jin asked, angered but following along. Allen did as well, with the brute cops firing shots behind them trying to get them to stop. But they would have utterly failed firing drills as well.

They reached the terminal room; Kazuya waved them onto the transferal plate. He still wasn't sure where to go, but Roppongi should be nice and quiet. He picked that location. By the time the brute cops caught up, the terminal had already taken them away.

Roppongi was indeed quiet, much to the relief of his mind. But, it was eerily so. The halls outside the terminal room were very clean, with much nicer maintenance than Shinjuku. There were even clean carpets on the floor. However, there didn't seem to be any people as they got into the main halls.

"Why the hell did you have us run out of there like cowards?" Jin asked, turning to them angrily.

"Because I still have this headache and we were clearly not wanted there," Kazuya said. "I need to sleep somewhere. Besides, we are badly mismatched against Scylla. Maybe fusing you with a demon would work, but I'm not going to let you do that rashly. There are other things we could do to outsmart or overpower them, even if they take time. And please, let's not cause trouble here."

"Uh," Jin looked down, ashamed for the moment. "Sorry man. But I'm sure I won't change my mind."

And then something broke the silence: a little girl singing happily. Well, it was someone. Allen was looking down that way too. "There's something about this place that gives me the chills," he said. "Like, a funeral home or something."

"It is strange in here," Jin said, glancing around now. "Don't see any demons, though."

They could hear her uneven footsteps now, like she was dancing through the halls. Kazuya went ahead and headed towards her. At the very least, she could help them find an adult who'd know the place. She came into the hall they were in first, stopping with a gasp on seeing them. From her long blond hair and blue eyes, she clearly wasn't Japanese. She even had an old-fashioned blue dress and black buckled shoes, more of an English fashion if his guess was right. Or she was the daughter of a fashion enthusiast.

"Hello, I've never seen you three here before," she said, smiling wide and coming right up to them. "Are you here to be our friends too? Everybody is friends with each other here!"

"Actually, we're looking for a place we can rest at," Allen said. "Kazuya here isn't feeling too good."

She pouted in sympathy. "Aw, that's too bad. Sure, I know a good place for a nap. I'm Alice." She curtsied to them, then twirled around. "I hope you get better, Mr. Kazuya."

"Thanks," he said.

"And I'm Allen, and this is Jin," Allen continued while Jin looked like he wanted nothing to do with this. "Where is the place for a good nap?"

"It's over this way, follow me!" Alice turned and led them back to the hall she'd come from. After a bit, she looked back up at them. "Oh, I have so many questions, but I know I should be good when someone's not feeling well. Will you talk with me when you wake up?"

He really should be finding Yuka, figure out what he needed to do. But it couldn't take that long to entertain a girl for a bit. "Sure, for a little while."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Great, I'll look forward to it. The place is close by, that one!" She hurried over to a door and opened it up. "Mr. Red, Mr. Black? Are one of you here?"

"What is it, Alice?" a man with a deep voice said warmly. Kazuya got to the doorway and found Alice talking with a man who had dark skin and a black suit, almost like a butler. He looked over at them curiously.

"These people just arrived and they need somewhere to sleep," Alice said, putting her arms behind her back. "May they stay here, Mr. Black? They seem like good friends."

"Of course, that won't be a problem," Mr. Black said. "Gentleman, you will need to pay an inn fee as newcomers, but it's merely for upkeep, I assure you. I keep everything fresh and clean for all guests and friends."

"How much is it?" Kazuya asked, wary in spite of his headache. This place seemed high class, what with the vase of fresh flowers, the ornate furniture, the magazines for jewelry, cars, and other high-end merchandise.

But it actually was extremely cheap, which was strange but he'd take it. The rooms were high class too; there was a soft bed, a large flat-screen TV with a number of movies and shows that could be borrowed from a library, and other exquisite works of art as décor. It didn't seem like a place a young girl would think of as a napping place, unless she too was a very high class girl. Which might be.

Kazuya didn't get much longer to think on it as he drank a bit of the soma to try that, then was soon fast asleep on the bed.

* * *

A girl not much older than Alice sat at a desk drawing. She was happy there, humming and smiling. When Kazuya looked at her, he knew he was seeing Yuka. But, she didn't seem the same. This place wasn't the same; it looked like a Mesian place, with their crosses, paintings of angels, and religious books on packed shelves. Kazuya drifted near her and saw what she was drawing: himself. He smiled at that.

A woman came in; he drifted aside even though he was a dream spirit here. "Yuka, have you..." she paused. "What are you drawing now?"

"My husband!" she said cheerfully without hesitation. "He's my soulmate, and he's gonna come find me someday and take me away because I'm his princess."

"Maybe when you're older," Kazuya said, chuckling at this.

However, the woman sighed and pulled away her colored pencils. "Please stop persisting with these fantasies. You're not allowed to be seeing others your age, much less getting married, until you fulfill the role you were born for."

"Why does it have to be me?" she asked defiantly.

The teacher gripped her shoulder hard, digging her fingernails in and making Yuka yelp. Kazuya would have liked to stop her, but he wasn't able to intervene. "It is shown by the power you were born with, the time and the place. We are not mistaken. You are the Prophet who will led us to find the Messiah of this millennium."

"Why do you need me to find him?" Yuka said, trying to be defiant but crying. "All these crusty old books say what's gonna happen, that the Messiah for the Church will have a soul that shines with holy light and will perform miracles. He'll appear as if by magic and quickly prove himself to be talented beyond other humans." She sniffed. "Besides, what if Kazuya's the Messiah?"

"That can't be true because this Kazuya you describe does not fulfill the prophecies," the teacher said.

"Well then you figure out the prophecies yourself!" she said, throwing the woman's grip off even though it tore her skin some. She ran off in tears.

"Yuka!" Kazuya chased after her. He didn't want to leave her like this, even in a dream. "I'll come to take you away from them, of course I will."

And then she was older, looking different yet again but he knew it was her. She stopped and looked back, only to miss a giant spider dropping down and grabbing her. She screamed in horrific pain as she got dragged away.

"Yuka!" He tried to run after her, but his whole body was heavy. Like, it was tied back with spider webs, or…

Or this fluffy comforter. Kazuya sat up suddenly, his head spinning and his heart pounding. The dark room around him seemed so strange, almost threatening. After a moment in which he recalled they were in Roppongi, he put his hand on his chest and tried to calm down. But how could he? Yuka was definitely in trouble and she was counting on him to get her away from the Mesians who thought she was some prophet. But they didn't care about her enough to treat her well, only enough that she found the Messiah they were waiting for. But where was she?

"Shibuya," he said to himself. At that, his body checked itself and stopped panicking because he needed to get to work. He wasn't entirely sure Yuka would be in Shibuya. However, the Mesians were supposed to have a strong hold there, making it a place to start.

But what did he do about Jin and Allen? Jin would not be pleased that they were going to see Mesians. After yesterday, that might be the last straw for him. Was he even listening anymore? He was so focused on his own goals. And most of the time, he did his own thing in battles, not waiting for Kazuya's suggestions. Maybe there wasn't anything more he could do for Jin; Kazuya felt like he hadn't been able to do anything at all. Things had moved so fast in those last days of the old world.

There might still be a chance to help Allen. Although, with what? Allen respected him. He wasn't having any crazy ideas either; he was shocked over the state of the world, but that was the same for them all. After waiting on his head to clear, Kazuya got out of bed and changed into different clothes. He should get around to washing what he had sometime. Maybe there were some laundry machines here in Roppongi, since everything was so clean and fresh.

When he got into the hotel lobby, Alice was there at a table, playing cards with herself. She was quick to look his way and smile. "Good morning Kazuya! Do you feel better? You were asleep a long time."

"I'm feeling better," he said, although he wasn't feeling great.

"Good. We saved some breakfast for you, kept it nice and warm. Here, take what you like, as our guest. We can talk while you eat." She turned back to recollect her cards.

"Where are Jin and Allen?" Kazuya asked, sitting at the table and lifting the silver lid on the warming plate. It looked like an egg bowl breakfast, with the rice still steaming. Some strawberries with a chilled dish of cream was to the side as well. While he could excuse the rice and egg, having strawberries and cream seemed very peculiar now. They were hard enough to get before the world had changed.

"Allen's in the disco, I'm pretty sure of that," Alice said, kicking her shoes as she sat there. "And Jin, um…."

"It's weird for Allen to be in the disco," Kazuya said. Even though he'd skirted his school rules a bit to date his Yuka, Allen was too mindful of his church's morals to go to such a place.

"Well I told him it was a good place where naughty things didn't happen," she said. A strange thing to come from a little girl, but she couldn't know the implications of that. "And it is! It's big, and there's always music playing and people dancing. You can do whatever you like here in Roppongi and lots of people go dancing at the disco. Or you can have adventures with me; there's lots of fun things to do, and it'd be really nice if you stayed, Kazuya."

"I have things to do elsewhere, sorry," he said, which made her stick out her lower lip and pout. "What about Jin, where's he?"

"Hmm, oh yeah, I remember now." She nodded and put her cards in the box. "There's this nice man called Mr. Cypher who comes to talk to Mr. Red and Mr. Black a lot. He has pretty blond hair and he gives me good candy. Mr. Cypher was in earlier this morning and he was talking to Jin for a while. They went somewhere to do something, I don't know where. But, um, he said to tell you not to worry about him. He can handle himself. And, he's a brave man to go out where all the demons are. No demons ever come in here because Mr. Red and Mr. Black put up a strong shield to keep everybody safe."

"That's sad that he went alone, he was a good friend of mine," Kazuya said. Actually, he was really worried about what Jin meant to do.

"Well you'll see him again, I know it," Alice said kindly, patting his arm. "Um, I'd really like it if you stayed and were my friend, but what do you have to do outside Roppongi? It's dangerous out there."

He patted his comp. "I know, but I can talk with demons and summon them. I'll be fine out there, especially with Allen still with me."

Her eyes sparkled at that. "Ooo, you're a summoner? Wow, that's amazing! I always wanted to meet one. So, um, do you beat up the demons until they beg you for mercy, and then you make them your slave for their rest of their existence?"

"Um, no," he said, trying not to show how disturbed he was at her question. "I talk with them instead of fighting them if I want to recruit them. I treat them nicely, unless they're a hot-blooded sort that are impressed with someone standing up to them. Then I give them some gifts to make sure they're happy, and we make a contract to help each other. My comp helps me do that, including helping me keep track of how my demons are doing and feeling so I can make sure they're not unhappy. I let them have my magnetite and they work for me, helping me to fight the other demons."

"Then you're a nice summoner," Alice said, smiling up at him. "The demons must like you. So then, if you're not staying here, where are you going?"

"To Shibuya. I need to find my soulmate Yuka; I know she's with the Mesians and they're said to be strong in Shibuya."

She nodded to that, seeming serious for her. "Uh-huh, you'd better get her away quick cause the Mesians are secretly big fat meanies. But what makes her your soulmate? That sounds serious."

He smiled for a moment, in spite of the worry. "It's because she's my princess and I'm going to go rescue her from danger. Even from the Mesians if they try to stop me. I love her with all my being."

That made her giggle and cover her mouth. "Oh, if she's your princess, then you'd better hurry to get her! I won't keep you here then. But, um, if you're going to Shibuya, would you please buy something there for me? It shouldn't be too expensive."

"What do you have in mind?" he asked. Alice had cheered him up, so he didn't mind doing a small favor for her. Hopefully it wasn't too much.

She leaned forward. "They have a drink there called a Hiranya that I really like, but I don't get to have it often. It's really special cause if you use magic a lot, it'll give you lots of energy to cast lots of magic. And it works for humans and demons. So, would you please buy me a Hiranya in Shibuya? You can get one too and see how great they are."

"I don't have any magic, but Yuka does," Kazuya said. "Sure, I'll look for that."

Alice grinned at that. "Goodie, thanks! I'll be waiting for you to come back with your princess."

She kept chatting with him as he finished his breakfast, even followed after him when he went to the disco to find Allen. There was an energetic beat coming from the enclosed disco, along with laughter and happy chatter. At another time, he might have been interested to spend some time there having fun. But Yuka was in trouble; there was no time for fun. Allen was outside the disco, leaning against the wall with his hands over his face.

"Allen, what's wrong?" Kazuya asked.

"Huh, oh sorry." He rubbed his eyes. "Good morning Ka-aaaah!" He looked over and saw him there with Alice, then jumped back for some reason as if afraid of her. Alice just giggled at that.

Kazuya glanced down at the girl, then back in case he'd missed something. "Allen?"

"Oh, ah, ha ha, never mind," he said, worried. "It's, uh, nothing."

"That doesn't sound like nothing," Kazuya said.

"Um, were we supposed to be going somewhere?" Allen asked weakly, like all he wanted was to get away from Roppongi.

"He said you both were going to Shibuya," Alice said.

"Oh, yes, Shibuya!" he said, coming away from the wall. "Right, Shibuya. Actually, that'd be where, uh, well let's just get going. We really have to find Yuka. But, uh, I haven't really seen Jin today."

"He took off on his own earlier," Kazuya said. "Didn't even leave us a note or anything."

Allen sighed, although he may have been relieved. "Yeah, but he's always been rude like that. I hope you're feeling better, because we really should be going now."

"Sure," he said, then patted Alice on the head. "Sorry, I'll see you again."

"Okay!" she said, then hugged him around the waist. "Good luck with your princess!" She then skipped ahead into the disco to join the people there.

Allen didn't want to talk on the way to the terminal. He just wanted them to get away soon and hurried along. Once they arrived in Shibuya, he turned to him. "Kazuya," he said, concern, horror, and a bit of previously unseen anger in his tone now.

"What is wrong?" he asked, fine with speaking here in the terminal room. This one too had superstitious charms and marks, trying to keep demons from using it.

"Everyone there was dead," he said. "Even that little girl. The only ones who weren't dead were those Mr. Black and Mr. Red characters, but they're demons who revive corpses for some perverse reason. We were the only living humans there!"

"But I didn't get any alerts from the program," he said, flipping open the comp. He noticed something quickly. "The sound on my comp is shut off for some reason, that's strange." He put it back on and checked the demon analysis for the demons most recently encountered. And, there had been a bunch detected inside the disco, all Undead types. It had caught Mr. Black as well, but all the data on him was garbled. And, there was Alice with all her data garbled as well.

"Maybe they did something, I don't know," Allen said. "But it's the truth."

"I see," he said, then shut the comp's lid and looked at him. "How did you find out?"

He flinched and clutched his crucifix. "I… I was trying to speak to people in the disco, like you had us do in Shinjuku. But they were all so strange, acting like I wasn't there. Then I heard they had a girl named Yuka shut in another room, so I went to check it out, but, it was my girlfriend. Only, she hadn't changed at all; she looked exactly the same as I'd last seen her, the morning before we tried to talk with Gotou and Thorman."

If she hadn't changed and that was a city of the dead… Kazuya felt a tightness in his throat. "Allen, that's horrible."

He nodded and closed his eyes, trying not to cry. "Sh-she had died in the nuclear strikes. But then she was brought back to life here in Roppongi by those demons. They say they're doing it for Alice; everyone in the disco loved Alice. But, Yuka realized what was going on. She remembered her actual life and tried to make others remember too. For that, they shut her away and left her by herself. She said she prayed to God like I was teaching her about, but she was there by herself, not living and not ale to die, for all these thirty years. That should… something should have..."

Kazuya put an arm around him to comfort him. "I'm sure something can be done," he said. "If the gods won't answer, you have to do things yourself. My father would say that occasionally."

"Th-they teach that, sometimes we have to be God's hands in the world," Allen said. That at least got him to stop crying. "I mean, I wasn't really anything special, and some people even treated me like I was detestable. But, the angels reached out to me for help. If I could find some soul incense… the Mesians here should have some, it gets used in some services. If I had that and an ordained priest, I could take the priest to Roppongi and see to it that her soul gets put to rest. It feels like a horrible thing; I still love her, it hasn't been very long for me since we were together. She helped me be more confidant, as I used to never speak if I could avoid it. To say goodbye like this, well, it's the proper thing to do, I just don't know if I can."

"I'd find it hard to be in your position too," Kazuya said. "But if you can bring her peace and end her suffering, I think that'd prove how much you love her more than leaving her alone like she is."

"Yes, I should..." he pulled away, seeming embarrassed. "Sorry, no matter what power I get, I'm still a weak crybaby at heart. I know I shouldn't be."

"It's fine, I'd be more worried if you weren't upset enough to be crying after learning that," Kazuya said. "You really love her a lot. Since we're in the right place, it won't take long to go ask about that. Just, I'd be careful about running into Alice again in Roppongi if you mean to do that."

"Yeah, thanks," he said, smiling. He got out a tissue from his bag and wiped his face off before they headed into the Shibuya mall. "We could ask them about Yuka too, I mean, your Yuka."

The operating shops in this mall were close to the terminal. In case things went wrong again, Kazuya decided they should buy better gear before going much further. The personal armor they had for sale was well made, perhaps by necessity. But their best gear was designed for Mesians, to the point where the shopkeeper believed that a non-Mesian like Kazuya couldn't use it. Still, it was good to give Allen actual armor, a long coat with matching gloves and boots that the shopkeeper said was meant to help against magical damage as well as physical. Magic must have become more prevalent among humans too, since it also boosted the wearer's potential with what the shopkeeper called small miracles. For himself, Kazuya had to settle on a version of his police vest that included sleeves, as well as some new leg armor that protected against magic as well.

Allen still was uncertain about accepting a gun, so they skipped that store. In a drug store, they found that typical over-the-counter medicines were still being manufactured somewhere, mostly general ones like aspirin. There were also some sketchier items, brews made with demon parts or supposedly with alchemy to heal various maladies. They also had the Hiranya energy drink that Alice wanted. He went ahead and bought a few for their magic-restoring properties.

And that reminded him about the garbled entries. He took a moment to attempt contacting Steven. 'I have a good feeling you're still around somewhere in spite of everything. I've come back into the world; it's a long story. Besides that, the current state of the demon summoning program seems very good. I have run into an error; I updated the program as soon as I could, so I'm sure it's not because I'm using a thirty-year-old version. There's two demons that the analyze program couldn't identify much information about. Is there a way to clear up these entries?" He attached a copy of both Mr. Black and Alice's garbled data to the message, then sent it off.

As they spoke to the shopkeepers and then the townspeople, it was clear where they should go. Most of the Mesians here had moved to where their cathedral was being built to join that effort. It left the town a little empty feeling. However, some Mesians were still said to be on the upper floor of this complex. The townspeople suspected something wasn't right, since they hadn't heard from those who normally worked up there for a couple of days. But they didn't dare go to a place that the Mesians said was their private property.

"Are you fine with going up there?" Kazuya asked as they approached the stairs up. There were signs warning others away. He didn't care, not if people were in trouble, and especially not if they could help with Yuka. But Allen might.

"I think it would be fine to check on them, make sure they're okay," Allen said. "We're supposed to take care of each other, by God's wishes and teachings."

"I agree," he said, and led the way upstairs.

As soon as they got there, it turned pitch black. "Kazuya?" Allen asked, coming up behind him.

"I'm still here," he said, stopping.

Allen bumped into him. "Oh, sorry. What is with this? It can't be right."

"Maybe it's some kind of curse?" he wondered. He flipped open his comp to check the auto map, but all he got was an error message. It wasn't able to give him the floor's layout.

"Hang on, let me try something." He stepped aside, disappearing into the darkness in only two steps. "God, bring your light to this place." He then drew out his kodachi as if attacking.

There was an audible cut through something, a shattering like glass. The darkness broke, leaving them with the bright flames of Allen's sword. After a moment, the overhead lights kicked on. The program beeped, now giving him an automap.

"I didn't think attacking the darkness ever worked," Kazuya said, trying to make a joke of it.

"I don't know how long it will work, but at least we can see now," Allen said.

They ran into another patch of darkness in the next hall, which Allen struck down again. Then they found the missing Mesians. Overall, they didn't seem too bad for their ordeal, not hurt and they had a supply of food and clean water up here. They were awed to be free. "You two, you banished that accursed darkness?" a priest asked, coming out of their sheltered area first.

"Allen did, with his sword," Kazuya said, since Allen didn't seem like he'd take the credit.

"I didn't know if it would work, but I thank God it did," he said.

"Yes, even I couldn't clear that with my training," the priest said. "Although, I'm afraid it will only come back. One of the young women in our group has fallen prey to a demon that has invaded her mind. The darkness came as she's continued to suffer."

"Is her name Yuka?" Kazuya asked, feeling a clenching of his heart as he heard this. "One of your prophets?"

Startled, the priest said, "Actually, yes, she is Yuka, a prophet from birth. How did you know?"

"I've been looking for her, I need to see her," Kazuya said. He wanted to brush past him, but it'd be better to see if he'd take them there. The priest looked unsure of him; it may have been clear from his armor choice that he wasn't actually Mesian.

Fortunately, Allen stepped in for him. "If he says it's her, then they're soulmates and one really shouldn't get between them. He's trustworthy, just undecided."

"All right, we'll let you see her," the priest said, bowing to them. "If you can think of any way to help her, we would appreciate that. There is something important she still must do. Although, Allen, was it? May we talk?"

"Sure, what is it?" he said.

"Sir, please come this way," a woman still in the doorway said, waving him in. Kazuya nodded and followed her into a room in back. "I'm sorry, we had to keep her secured as she's been thrashing and hurting herself, and others trying to care for her."

She was tied to a post now, still with her head hung down. She didn't look like she used to; her black hair was thicker and her face wasn't the same. But she was still beautiful. She was his Yuka, the one and only person he loved deep in his heart. His head started to hurt again, but he ignored it to kneel down by her. "Yuka," he said, hoping it might get her attention.

She shuddered like she was in a nightmare. And, his comp beeped. He opened it up to find that the demon summoning program had identified the demon possessing her as Arachne. How did he get a demon out of a person? The Mesians should be experts on that, but they didn't seem able to handle freeing Yuka.

"Arachne," he said instead.

The comp showed that the demon had come alert to him.

Everything went black and he was flung onto the floor. Then things began to clear up, misty blue halls of his dream maze. Holding him down tot he floor, there was a woman with eight legs and a hungry look to her eyes. "Ah, I nearly had that girl's soul, but yours, yours seems so much more vibrant, yes…"

And she squawked when Kazuya threw her off him and into the wall. His tonfas were on his arms and he could feel his gun at his side. "Demon, you are going to suffer for what you've done to Yuka!"

At first, she cackled and sprung to the other wall. "Oo, that sounds fu…" then she made the mistake of looking into his eyes and seeing his fury. She skittered back immediately.

"And you will not escape!" he declared, going to attack her.


	11. A Split Team

"I heard from a friend that you wanted to fuse yourself with a demon, correct?"

"That's right."

"You're brave to even consider such a thing. But you'd first need to find a demon who'd be willing to fuse in the first place."

"Yeah, that's a problem. I don't have the program. My friend does, but he might not listen to me."

"Some demons get along with humans better than others. Say, how about I introduce you to a creature that your axe reminds me of?"

There was something odd about that man. Jin wasn't sure what it was. He looked like he could be a movie star, especially with that blond hair and his incredible sense of style. And yet, something felt different about talking with him. Jin had felt a lot more at ease talking with him than he normally did with someone he'd just met, with only Kazuya coming close to that. And Louis had an enthralling way with words, enough to where he remembered the feeling of being honestly listened to over what exactly they'd been talking about.

After watching him disappear into the halls of Ueno, Jin said, "Man, what I wouldn't give for an ounce of that guy's pizazz."

"Tch, tch." Next to him, a massive scorpion with layered red armor nipped the pincers in front of its mouth together. It then nudged his arm, surprisingly affectionate. He could think of a lot of people who'd be frightened out of their wits at the sight of this demon, especially with the wicked looking black axe on its tail. But Jin really liked this Guillotine Scorpion.

And it was his demon. He didn't have any program or charms, or any of that nonsense. This demon was simply his willing follower for anything. Yes, anything, including fusion. Now, where was that place here?

"He probably gets all kinds of girls not wanting to let go of him," Jin said, talking with the demon as it walked alongside him. "A fair amount of guys as well, to be honest. Lucky bastard. But oddly nice, he seemed like he actually wanted to help me out."

After some searching, and a lot of people avoiding coming across him and his demon, Jin found the entrance to the Heretic Mansion. It was obvious when he recalled Kazuya saying that it was an otherworldly place that put entrances where only summoners could see them. And since he now had a demon, he didn't need Kazuya to point out a door that he would have missed. The graffiti was a good indication too, since it seemed like it should stretch across the door.

"Hello, and welcome," the owner said, coming out from messing with bits and pieces of his technology. "Um, I don't recognize you, but I feel like I should."

"Does it matter?" Jin asked. "You're the fusion guy and I want some fusing done."

He smiled at that. "Yes, you're at the right place! Now what do you have in mind? You have quite a rare specimen already."

"Yeah, but I want to fuse myself with this Guillotine Scorpion," Jin said.

"Really?" He rubbed his chin. "Theoretically, it would be possible. I've done animal and demon fusions that have gone off just fine, if very much erratically compared to the data I'm getting from demon to demon fusions. A human and demon fusion, hmm, that should prove interesting. But, fusion cannot be undone, so are you absolutely certain of this decision?"

He nodded. "Yes, I decided on it yesterday and nothing I can think of would be a better way forward for me."

"All right, then let's go ahead! I have no idea how this will feel, so I would much appreciate it if you gave me a rundown of the experience afterward. Please step onto the circle there, and place your demon there."

"All right, do as he says," Jin said to the scorpion.

It clicked its pincers agreeably, then went into place. Jin followed suited. Finally, this should allow him to be his own person. Not who his parents wanted him to be, not who his stepfather wanted him to be, not his teachers or the other gang members, or anyone. He'd be his own person, able to make his own way himself. He'd be like a jinn with the power to do whatever he wanted, including granting wishes or curses to others as he pleased.

But there was something he had to do, and it had to do with Kazuya.

* * *

A heavy presence left her mind, letting Yuka awaken. Her head hurt; she wanted to grip it, but her hands were tied down. Her legs too. Why? This wouldn't be easy to escape. She looked aside and saw her friend Mei kneeling by a young man sprawled out on the floor. Wait, his face, she'd known that face all her life.

"Kazuya!" she said, then tried to slip out of the bonds. Just one wrist, then the rest would be easy. "What's going on, Mei?"

"Yuka, you're awake!" She got up and was quick to undo the latches. "Sorry, you were possessed by a demon we couldn't identify. We had to restrain you."

"Yes, but that's Kazuya," she explained as she held still to be freed. Mei would know who she meant. "What happened to him?"

"I had a funny feeling about that," she said. "But, well, he was trying to talk to you, then all of a sudden he got flung back. I think the demon moved into his mind. But, he hasn't been thrashing around or crying like you were. He seems very serious somehow."

Yuka crouched by Kazuya, looking him over. She was right; he looked highly focused, like he was taking a test or facing a strong enemy. Yet he didn't react to outside stimulus, not even when she caressed his cheek. It hurt so much, finding the man she'd been searching for her whole life only to have him put himself in danger to save her.

"What happened?" a priest said, coming into the room with another young man. He looked faintly familiar, but not to the degree that Kazuya was.

"Father, Yuka's been freed, but this man is possessed by the demon now," Mei said.

"No, he's got it trapped inside himself somehow," Yuka said. "Do we know where the Psychodiver is? He might be able to help."

"We don't call on psychics who won't acknowledge God," the priest said.

"But we don't have anyone in the Church capable of mind dives to call out stubborn demons," Yuka said. She had wanted to learn, but was denied the chance.

"Yeah, and we had no progress on trying to get it out of her," Mei agreed. "This man doesn't look like one of us, so it shouldn't be a big deal if we call on that guy to help him."

"We don't really want someone like him in our working space," the priest said, then shook his head. "Well Yuka, I suppose you can do what you want. I would suggest you report in to the Cathedral, given that your task is nearly complete."

"Father?" she asked, surprised. They kept asking her to identify the church's Messiah, thinking she'd lead them to such an important figure. But she couldn't come up with much more than what the books of prophecy already said.

"If it's not so, you'll still be doing better things there than hanging around here," the priest said. Then he turned to the other newcomer, this one wearing the robes of a Mesian mage. "Allen, I'll go retrieve the soul incense and be back to accompany you to Roppongi soon. Don't worry, I can make use of the terminals."

"Thank you, Father," Allen said, bowing his head. Other than the faint familiarity, nothing struck Yuka as much important about him. Perhaps he was one of Kazuya's friends, also transported from the past? He turned to them. "Um, I'd like to help Kazuya, but there's something really important to me I want to get done in Roppongi. I heard that the Psychodiver was in Shinjuku, but due to certain reasons, I can't go back there, especially not on my own. You should be fine if you can use the terminals, just as long as you don't mention us."

Did the priest think Allen here was the Messiah? So, she had brought him to them because he'd been accompanying her soul mate… she tried not to show how she felt about that. After all, Allen wasn't responsible for that and he seemed nice enough. "I can handle myself, thanks."

"But how can you use the terminals?" Mei asked.

"I might be able to use his comp," she said, placing her hand on the machine on his arm. She knew that it was very important to him, something he made use of constantly. "I'm sorry Kaz, but I need this to help you." She detached it from his arm and set it on her own.

It seemed like a bulky thing; how did he wear this constantly? The straps and latches weren't used to being on a smaller arm, so she had to make sure it was snug. Then she opened the lid; it asked her to press the wrist part close to her skin. Hopefully this worked…

After a moment, the comp beeped. A message wrote across the screen. 'Hi Yuka! If you're seeing this message, I'm sure you must have a good reason to be borrowing this from me. It's fine, just don't mind me teasing you to get it back. I love you! Kazuya'

"Oh wow, it really recognized you," Mei said, smiling brightly. "Then he's definitely the guy."

She smiled some. "Right, I knew it the moment I saw him. I just wish it hadn't been like this. Mei, do you mind taking care of him? I'll try to be back with the Psychodiver as soon as I can."

Her friend nodded. "Sure, leave it to me. I just hope I don't have to tie him down too, he seems strong."

"I'm sure he can keep the demon trapped, but I have to hurry. Thanks Mei." She excused herself to the others and hurried out to the terminal.

* * *

As Allen walked back through the halls of Roppongi with the priest, he felt tense and wary. He didn't want to say out loud that he was worried about running into a little girl, but she'd unnerved him from the moment he set eyes on her. There was something about her that felt evil, something made worse by how innocent and sweet she acted. Thankfully, she must have been busy at some game elsewhere in Roppongi. They ran into no one until they entered the disco.

Everyone here was enthralled by the music, dancing away and talking in disconnected ways. It might fool someone; it had almost fooled him, save for a feeling he always got around demons. Knowing that all of these people were dead, it felt like a mockery of life and all that was good. At least the zombies barely paid attention to them.

"Here she is," Allen said as they entered the small room off to the side. It looked like a patient room in a hospital, with a white bed and charts depicting something about her condition. Only a red line on the floor indicated something that the demons couldn't cross. Yuka herself was distracted as she'd been the first time, murmuring her prayers to herself. "Yuka?"

"Hmm, Allen?" She looked up, seeming normal aside from the daze she was in. "You're back. How did it go?"

"We can take care of you," the priest said, sitting on the edge of her bed. "We'll put you to the rest you deserve. I'm sure God will reward you for your dedication all these years."

"Thank you," she said in a small voice, stretching her legs out instead of having them curled up against her chest. "I don't want to be here any longer."

Allen sat down on her other side, his feelings all twisted up and painful. He wanted things to go back to how they'd been, but that wasn't possible. She'd only suffer, even if he could get her across that line and out of Roppongi. For now, he took her hand. "You'll be fine, you'll… be in God's arms."

His vision blurred with tears and he squeezed his eyes tight, not wanting to weaken like this. He didn't mind so much with Kazuya since he never gave him a hard time about it. But he always feared getting another angry lecture from the priests over something he couldn't really help about himself. At least this one couldn't know about his mother and bring that up too.

The priest brought out an incense ball and a cone, a familiar scent coming off it. He went to light it, but the ember went out as soon as he took the lighter away. After a few more attempts, he cupped the ball in his hand. "The powers of undeath are strong here. They're fighting the incense's power."

Feeling something like the times when Haniel spoke to him, Allen reached over. "May I try, sir?"

"If you wish," he said, offering the incense ball and lighter. The cone was already stuck to a pin.

Letting go of Yuka for the moment, he attempted to light the cone. He prayed silently, 'Please, God, extend your love to those here who suffer on the brink of death.' The flame stuck this time and he was able to close the ball to keep the cone caged.

He was going to hand it back, but the priest stopped him. "If it lights for you, why don't you try the ceremony?"

"I'm not ordained, Father," Allen said. "I did memorize some payers, but that was for a school project. I just thought I could light it."

"Go ahead, you were granted blessings from an angel," he said.

"All right." He caused the ball to swing gently in front of Yuka, then recalled those Latin phrases and prayers that he'd learned. He wanted this to work. He wanted to release Yuka from her suffering, even as it caused him to suffer. But then, he could heal and move on. She couldn't. The scriptures had that wisdom within them.

Allen hadn't been sure if he could get the prayer right. But a couple lines in, he felt something fill him with a feeling of brilliant radiant light. It made him feel far greater than himself, like he could see all of the undead wandering these halls in an ignorant dream. They didn't realize that they were mere puppets of demons, kept moving purely for their entertainment. At least Yuka still recognized herself as Yuka. Those bodies were empty of souls; the souls fueled the shield that supposedly kept this place safe. Out there, the people dancing in this disco suffered as well, unable to know why they suffered.

He wanted to release all of them from this vile mockery.

"Thank you, Allen," his Yuka said, briefly sounding happy like she used to whenever they could meet up. And then she was gone with the rest of them, at peace with death.

The light left him then, leaving him feeling cold and empty. He nearly collapsed onto the hospital bed, but the priest caught him. Outside of the room, the music stopped. Everything stopped; it became still and silent.

"My word," the priest said in awe, carefully taking the incense ball before it slipped from Allen's hand and started a fire. "Young man, you've done a miracle."

"Have I?" he asked weakly, trying to sit himself back up on his own. He didn't realize that a prayer of any kind could be draining. He glanced aside and saw a pile of ashes. In a blur of weariness and grief, he reached for a ring that was there. It was a friendship ring, she had said, with her best friend at her school. They had been wearing them for some luck charm that she'd only laugh when he asked her what it did.

"That prayer is only meant to send on one lost soul at a time," he said. "But you have put all the lost souls here at rest. I would not be capable of that."

The soul incense was helping him to revive from the feeling of being drained. But this emptiness, her loss, it couldn't help with that. "God acted through me," Allen said, feeling like he should be more impressed or awed. Instead, he wasn't feeling much of anything.

"And you bear a holy sword that is capable of cutting down cursed darkness," the priest said. "With all that evidence, I believe that you have been called to be our Messiah."

"What, me? B-but..." wasn't he unqualified for such a lofty position? He'd been dating an outsider, even if it seemed she'd successfully converted. And he was of lowborn birth, with no special talents. He'd had to work hard for his grades and then was incredibly lucky to get Haniel's blessing to be able to fight demons. He cried too easily, wasn't as confidant as other guys, and didn't know enough to be a teacher of God's ways. He wasn't anything like he'd imagined a Messiah being. "I'm just, lucky, that God would work through me."

"No, it's clear that you've been chosen to have Him work through you," the priest said. "Or else you would not have been able to do what you have done. We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival in the world, Allen. The Grand Cathedral waits for you, where you will invite God back into the world to reign as its rightful king."

"I will?" He wasn't sure if he could believe it, but, "That… it would be a great honor, Father."

"What is going on here?" one of the demons in human guise demanded from the doorway. It was the black one, still acting prim and proper even if his eyes were narrowed in fury. "What have you done with everyone?"

"We've freed their souls from your evil designs," the priest said, getting hold of a silver crucifix.

"You've committed a serious crime in our town and I will not go lightly on you," Mr. Black said.

Ghastly hands suddenly snatched into the room and everything went blurry with pain.

He died.

No… no, he couldn't be dead. There was still something he had to do, something about Kazuya.

* * *

Yuka left the terminal room in Shinjuku and felt a sudden disorientation when she walked out. She knew she'd lived a past life, but had only remembered things that had to do with Kazuya. Times in high school together, times they'd been playing with his dog, cooking together for holidays when his mother had been ill… being here when he finally showed up, that powerful connection when they first met eyes after becoming true soulmates. That… it had been here. She knew this place, even though her Mesian teachers never let her leave Shibuya, save for trips to see the Cathedral under construction.

While she knew she needed to find the Psychodiver, she found herself drawn to a stairway off to the side, with a label marking it as staff only. It was a very old sign, barely readable. Yuka went down there, the familiarity becoming less strange as it continued. In her past life, she'd worked here. She couldn't quite recall what she'd done, but it was probably more interesting than being a sequestered prophet.

There was a growl further ahead; a demon was here. But, Kazuya was a summoner, she knew that. But would his summon demons respond to her? She opened up the comp's lid and found that the summoning program was already active. He had several, but an angel and dervish stood out to her. She summoned them both.

"Hmm, you're not Kazuya," the angel said, her words running across the screen. "But I can sense that you're his soulmate.

"Yeah, that's blindingly obvious," the dervish said, starting to twirl in place.

"Yes, I'm Yuka," she said. "Kazuya's in trouble. For the time being, I need your help to help him. Will you work with me?"

"You're not a proven summoner, much less the one we made a contract with," the angel said. Then she smiled. "But for the sake of Kazuya, I am willing to protect you."

The dervish nodded. "Sure, until he can fight again, I'll fight for you."

"Thank you," she said, bowing to them. "Something's ahead, that's why I called you. I'm not defenseless, but I'm not about to take things alone."

"That would be wise, we want to return you to him safe," the dervish said.

When they moved ahead, a patchwork creature identified as a chimera stood in their way. "Hey, nobody comes down here but Ozawa," Chimera said, its goat head speaking in a rough tone she could understand without translation. "Or, are you here on Ozawa's orders? It's about time to feed me and the crazy psychic."

This could be fortunate, if this was the Psychodiver. "I'm not, but I will see the psychic," Yuka said. if it wasn't Psychodiver, then a fellow psychic could locate him.

"Hmph, nobody sees him. You looking for a beating?"

"I'll beat up you if that's what it takes," Yuka said, unafraid as she drew her sword. Her Mesian teachers had taught her how to fight demons, although it was only so she could join patrols to keep Shibuya safe. And that only because she'd been a restless girl always getting into trouble by being where she wasn't supposed to be.

"Heh, you, some girl?" Chimera asked smugly. "Fat chance of that happening, not even with your demons." It then roared with its lion head and breathed purple smoke with the goat.

Yuka was quick to strike the goat head, while dervish moved in with his twin swords to slash up Chimera's snake tail. The angel hung back and supported them, making sure their wounds got healed. As Chimera had no such supporter, it was quick to fall under their attacks. A keychain was all that was left behind. "Thanks, guys," she said to Kazuya's two demons as she retrieved the key.

"By God's mercy," the angel said in human words, while the dervish just grunted.

She walked through the familiar halls, momentarily stopped when she recalled a time that Kazuya had been in her arms, in tears. He'd lost his mother and his loyal dog, leaving her as all he had of his previous life. While he was a strong man, he was also human who had every right to grieve and feel hurt. How long had it been for him since that time? She would still comfort him; she knew him already, and knew that he would understand how she was.

At the end of the hall, they came across a room that had been transformed into a cell. "You bring any booze today?" the man inside said, not bothering to get up.

"No," she said. "I brought the keys to your cell. Are you the Psychodiver?"

"Of course, who else would be…?" He'd fumbled out of bed in his ragged clothes, but stopped suddenly on seeing her. "Wait, you've never been around here before. Good Lord, you've got some incredibly bad mojo going on. What's going on, miss?"

She unlocked his cell first. "I'm Yuka, from Shibuya. Until an hour ago, I had a demon trying to take over my mind, apparently one called Arachne. I don't know how long I was out, but Kazuya, my soulmate, he lured the demon out of me and trapped her in his own mind. Please, I need your help. I don't know if he can defeat her himself; I must go into his mind to help him."

"Huh, well he'd have to be something really extraordinary or very well trained to kill a demon within his own mind," Psychodiver said, rubbing his shaggy beard. "And your bond as soulmates is true; you two would find each other over successive lives out of love for each other. Unfortunately, that's a problem when one of you is suffering so badly. He must have been in a lot of pain trying to reach you. And if you don't act fast, that'll happen to you and you'll both succumb to the demon. But, it's gonna be a headache getting to Shibuya; Ozawa shoots people who try to escape and he sees me as a valuable tool he can't lose."

"This is Kazuya's comp, it can activate the terminals to get us instantly to Shibuya," Yuka said, tapping the device. "We just have to sneak you a couple doors over to the terminal once we get upstairs."

"Great, I'd be happy with any means of escape," Psychodiver said, grabbing a bag before heading out of the cell. "Let's scoot, I don't want to be here any longer then necessary."

Yuka nodded, glad he was willing to hurry in spite of just being released. She felt like some people might have seen them in the hall. But if they had, they didn't have the time to alert Ozawa and his men. They were soon back in Shibuya and Yuka led Psychodiver upstairs to where Kazuya had fallen.

He was still where he had been, still focused on his battle. Mei was there too. "He grumbles occasionally, but hasn't moved at all," she said.

Kneeling down by him, the Psychodiver put his hands over Kazuya's head. "Normally I'd charge a pretty penny for this, but being made free and such an interesting case is enough… yikes, this guy has one hell of a will. I can tamper with the demon's existence enough to make it easier to kill her from within, plus backup is something he'd appreciate. You might want to lay on the floor or bed here since this is your first time diving; I'll draw you in when you're ready. Be ready for a fight the moment we get in."

"Got it," Yuka said, then laid herself down next to Kazuya to be near him. "Okay."

"Here we go," Psychodiver said. The world went wavy like when she used the terminal. Before long, it settled into misty blue hallways. "Whoa, incoming!" He ducked behind her.

She drew her sword, which stopped a freakish spider lady from crashing into her. "Aaaaah, you!" she shrieked. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You soul just seemed so tasty, but his soul would be valuable to the angels or the demons, so I could... I'm sorry, would you please let me go? This guy is a real hero, he's terrifying!" She quivered and put a pair of legs over her eyes.

"No, there's no way I'm giving you the chance to bargain away Kaz's soul," Yuka said, attacking the demon.

A gunshot came from further down the hall. "Yuka!" Before long, he was on the other side of the demon.

"Kaz, I brought help, we can take down the demon for good," she said, making Arachne wail.

"Good." Between the two of them, Arachne fell quickly.

"Nice work, kids," Psychodiver said. "Now I know you're probably eager to do some reunioning, but we ought to get out of his mind quickly so you both can wake up. Her influence is disappearing rapidly, you both should be fine before long."

"All right, see you in a moment," Yuka said, smiling at Kazuya.

"Sure," he said, smiling back and seeming relieved to see her again.

* * *

It used to be that Yuka had been about a year older than him. Now she was just nineteen, a few years younger than him. She was also much more versed in the Mesian teachings than she used to be. But at the core of her personality, she was still the same person. Kazuya was as comfortable with her as he'd always been.

"I feel like I've failed Jin and Allen," Kazuya said, since it was just the two of them now. "They were both looking up to me and I wanted to mentor them. But things have moved too fast and now they've split off in their own directions. They couldn't even learn to get along with each other."

"But they're still alive, right?" Yuka asked.

He shrugged. "Hard to say, but I'd hope so."

"As long as they're alive, you still have a chance to reach out to them," she said. "If you don't give up on helping them, they'll have to recognize that you care for them too."

"I hope they do," he said, feeling better at the reminder of that. "There's also something that I need to do in the world, why I came back. Well, other than to be with you again." She laughed at that. "It's true! Anyhow, I'm still not sure what it is I should do. So I'd like to go around Tokyo for a while, see what can be done to reunite its people. Ideally, I could do that with all of Japan, but I'll focus on Tokyo for now. I still have to figure out the situation here in this time, though I'm gathering a larger picture."

"I was sequestered here, so I only know of what's gone on in Shibuya and with the Church," Yuka said. "They're about ready to shift the Cathedral downriver, since it's structurally complete."

"Move it downriver?" he asked. "From the impression I got talking with everyone, it was going to be a massive building that could be visible nearly anywhere."

"It's being crafted with an artificial island," she said. "I don't know the specifics, but it's supposed to miraculously appear one morning to awe those who don't know about it. They've even got terminals and walls set up so that the non-trusted workers don't even know where they are when they arrive on site. They all think they're making smaller buildings, but it's a plan designed by a brilliant architect and engineer they've had in hiding all this time."

"That sounds like a complex layer of deception for making a miracle occur," Kazuya said.

Yuka nodded. "But it is to be the throne of God, so it must appear to be like an incredible miracle to persuade the indecisive. I learned quickly to be careful about questioning these sorts of things even though I kept thinking deep down that something didn't add up about everything going on around me. One thing I found out is that angels need to be called into the world just like demons. In fact, they're just like demons in many ways, although everyone would strongly disagree with me on that."

"I can command the angel I have just like the demons," he said. Then he got a message. "Hang on, this is from Steven, so it could be important."

"The mystery man who wrote the demon summoning program?" she asked, intrigued.

He nodded and let her look over his shoulder to read the message with him. 'Kazuya: it's good to hear from you again. With fewer devices capable of my program around, there are fewer summoners than we would like and the forces of demons and angels are growing powerful. But I think there's still a chance for humanity to thrive without relying completely on either side. As for your mystery demons, a few powerful ones have proven capable of obscuring their data from summoners. But they're not completely uncrackable. I have retrieved some of the data on Mr. Black, actually Nebiros, and Alice, should you encounter them again.

'In this case, I should give you a warning about Alice in particular. She reads as being of the Fiend class, a particularly powerful bunch that can prove surprisingly difficult even compared to demons that appear to be on equal level with them. Attempting to battle her now would prove overwhelming. However, she's also recorded as having an amicable nature, so avoiding battle should be simple in her case. I won't expect any other fiend to be so obliging. From Steven'

"Should we avoid Roppongi then?" Yuka asked.

He had to consider that. "That'd be smart. But then, I promised Alice something when I didn't realize she was a demon. And I'm sure Allen went there since you said the priest left with him. We can see if we can find him, and then I'll keep my word and try to end things at that."

"I see. Well, the priest let me go as the church's prophet, so I'm free to leave with you. I think I should pick up a few relics before I leave for good, though. They'd be helpful in dealing with the demons. Like the gushing jar, it traps demons inside and can act like a temporary summoning contract. The official say they'll sell the jars, but they price them so high to outsiders that nobody will actually buy them."

"That'd be good," he agreed. "Some demons don't respond to negotiations at all."

Since they knew Yuka, it was easier for them to get the Mesians to sell them more exclusive items like the gushing jar and some rosaries. Much of it still wasn't going to be useful to Kazuya, but Yuka could make use of them. The shopkeepers also talked more, warning them to avoid areas with heavy Gaean influence like Ueno, Destiny Land, and Ikebukuro.

As for their plans, Kazuya felt it would be better if they came across as unaffiliated demon hunters while they went to investigate the rest of the city.


	12. The Messiah's Calling

When Jin came back to Shinjuku, the people there didn't recognize him. But they did recognize him as someone not to mess with, scattered at the sight of him. He glanced around, able to see far into the dim halls without needing glasses. Yes, even that obstacle had been overcome, giving him sight that not only exceeded normal human range, but could also detect heat signatures. As much as he'd loved the longcoat he'd gotten from his gang initiation, this red armored skin was much more badass. His axe even gained a poisonous edge, not that much could last long against him now. These people, these mere humans, they'd be split like soft wood if he turned on them.

And lucky for him, these dumb cops were out showing off with drills in one of the larger halls of Shinjuku. They couldn't compare to Kazuya, who was noble and fair as a cop should be. But Kazuya was just too softhearted; he should have ditched that wimp Allen long ago, for one thing. Jin wasn't going to be soft like that. He as going to bring justice to those who deserved its harder edge.

"Wait, stop there demon!" the leader of the group called at him. He was marked as the chief by his over-the-top badge. "How did you get in here?"

"Like I'd ever tell you," he said, smiling under the face guard. "You've gone too far and I'm here to make you thugs pay."

"Nonsense, we keep order here and you will die! Go back to the Abyss!" He whipped out a gun and fired.

To his credit, he would have hit a human. As it was, the bullet pinged off his scorpion armor harmlessly. "Nah, I think I'll send you there," he said, then rushed forward and brought his axe into position. He moved faster than a human would, causing the other cops to miss by far. Then he buried the axe into the chief's chest, splattering blood everywhere. The chief died pretty much instantly, as Jin effortlessly yanked the axe out and increased the blood spread.

The other cops panicked. Most ran, but a few tried to fight him desperately. He cut them down one by one, enjoying his retribution. It was just too bad that so many who deserved that were dead or long gone. Thankfully, the one he most wanted to slay was still alive and well, being nothing but a pig that he'd happily slaughter. The hall was empty when the last who tried to stand against him died. Their heat was already escaping their bodies. Not giving them any further thought, he headed straight for Ozawa's office.

Ozawa was not actually in the office, due to the walls and door being repaired from last time. But he and Scylla were in the upstairs hall, discussing some matter that would end up not mattering. A human guard tried to step in his way first. "Hang on, you can't come here without an appo..." he gurgled in death as Jin slashed into his chest and then kicked him into the wall.

"How did you get in this far?" Scylla demanded, scuttling in front of Ozawa. That meant she would die too.

"By force," Jin said. "I'll get by you just the same."

Scylla hissed while Ozawa behind her tried to search for an exit. But this was still underground and nothing would save him. Jin got by the old monster by cracking her crab shell wide open. As a demon, she left no body behind, just some smoke and a sword.

Jin kicked the sword away and moved to trap Ozawa in this dead end hall. "Say, do you remember the Turbos, the skateboarders gang in Kichijoji?"

Frightened out of his wits, Ozawa pressed up against the wall like that would help him. "Ah, y-yes, they worked for me, a long time ago." He screamed and pulled his arm away with Jin swung at it.

The miss didn't bother him this time. "They were fools to join you," he said. "You ruined my gang family, you nearly killed me, and you've brought all these people to ruin with your bullying ways. I became this strong solely to defeat you; you inspired me to become less human. So, you remember me now?"

"N-n-no," he said, although he was clearly trying to.

Not that it really mattered, since he died as easily as the police chief had.

* * *

As they approached the disco in Roppongi, Kazuya noticed it was different today. "There should be music here," he said. "Something's wrong."

"Wasn't it wrong with being a city of the dead?" Yuka asked.

"True, but it's changed." He was careful approaching the door to the disco.

There was no one inside. The floor was covered in many piles of ash with a few thin trails trailing between them. Over to the side, there was a faint glow in the dim disco, something shaped like a familiar person.

Feeling disappointment in being unable to help, Kazuya went over to him. "Allen?"

"Kazuya?" he replied, turning to him. "Um, this didn't go as planned."

"What happened?" He glanced into the room, but it seemed like a patient room with a strangely dirty bed.

"I meant to free only Yuka, but then I ended up freeing all of the souls who had their bodies turned into the dancing zombies here," Allen said. "It destroyed the barrier around Roppongi, so you're more likely to find other demons around. The one they call Mr. Black showed up, furious at us; he stole our souls right out of our bodies. I managed to slip away but he has my body, and the body and soul of the priest who came with me. He probably means to destroy us to begin restoring their barrier. Please, go stop him! He'll just sacrifice more people to put things back how they were, not caring about the sacrifices."

"We should use one of the jars if this demon can steal souls like that," Yuka said. "I can get the two men like that, but I can't be sure about the girl."

"Let's see if we can do this without alerting her," Kazuya said. If they were going to be with Allen, who had freed the souls, they didn't want to encounter Alice.

"She's at the east end of this level right now," Allen said. "I can feel her, an innocent evil. Mr. Black is in the basement, and Mr. Red seems to be upstairs."

"We'll stop them," he said. He hadn't found the stairways here yet, but knowing Alice was to the east, he could check holes in the automap program. In that manner, they found both sets of stairs in the north part of Roppongi.

Downstairs, Yuka caught him before he went forward too much. "There's some trap curses around here, I recognize that magic. There's a lot of poisonous air too."

"You need to go through that door, then the second door to the right," Allen said, pointing out a nearby door past a sitting area.

"Can we avoid the poison?" Kazuya asked her.

"Not all of it, but I can get rid of any poison that tries to stick to us," Yuka said, taking his hand. She led him in a way to be in the poisonous air as little as possible. It had a noxious odor like car exhaust on a vehicle with engine problems. Even the demons working with them were affected.

The room they entered was empty of furnishings aside from some candles on long stands, but it was covered in magical diagrams. Nebiros was there, currently out of his disguise as a butler. Instead, he wore a ragged red cowl and seemed to have white and black striped skin. "How kind of you to bring the soul that got away," he said as if they didn't intimidate him. "I need him to reset the barrier around this town; his soul has extraordinary power and should be sufficient alone for the task."

"We're not going to let you do that," Kazuya said. "Return him to his body."

Nebiros seemed to click his tongue. "I'm afraid I can't do that; I disposed of the bodies of those two Mesians already. They're not worthy of this paradise we built for Alice. I'll have to find other friends for her."

"It's no paradise, it's torment for the souls you enslave," Allen said, doing his best to be confidant against something he saw as a terrible crime.

He shrugged at that. "It's not like you humans make any better use of your souls; it's a waste that you use them for mundane life. Besides, what's wrong with giving everything you've got to make the one you love happy? Alice is such a sweet girl; we want to see her always smiling."

"It's still evil to treat others in the way you do, no matter what reason you put to it," Kazuya said. Then he felt a sense of danger for Yuka. Probably himself too. "Yuka!"

"I'm on it," she said, taking the lid off the gushing jar she'd snuck out while they were talking.

"W-wait, you can't…!" he tried to deny, taking a step away from them. But they were in front of the only physical exit to the room. He tried to vanish, but the gushing jar still caught him and sealed him away.

Yuka put the lid back on to secure it better. "There, that's one of them."

Allen seemed to be looking off in the distance. "Something's happened to Alice. And wait here, it seems Mr. Red is going to intercept us directly."

Before half a minute passed, a rotund man in a bright red suit appeared in the room. The illusion lasted mere seconds before he revealed himself as a red humanoid devil that seemed like he'd been stretched out way too far. He gave off an intimidating aura, like someone who could crush them to bits despite seeming so thin. "What have you done?!" he demanded. "Why are you destroying our dream of paradise?"

"This was no paradise," Allen said. "It was merely a stage full of puppets and tormented souls."

"You have no say in this, you cannot do anything," he said, nearly causing Allen to back away. While the demon spoke, Kazuya quickly checked for his identity: Belial. "But you two, why are you doing this?"

"Belial, we have to agree with him," Kazuya said, shutting his comp's cover. "Nebiros said you were doing this all for Alice, to keep her safe and happy. But one person's happiness is not worth the endless torment of dozens of souls. If no one else can enjoy this so-called peace, then it must be put to an end."

He narrowed his eyes at him. "Hmph, you say that and yet you'd stomp all over other people's dreams to make your own come true. I know that is so. It is how humans always do things, what you're doing right now."

"And what you were just doing with all of Roppongi," he countered.

"That isn't the same!" he shouted, bringing up his hand and gathering a large amount of magic rapidly.

"Oh no you don't!" Yuka said, activating the other gushing jar that she'd brought.

"What, how do you have one of those?" He struggled in vain, but got caught up in the sealing magic as he screamed in complete fear.

She put the lid on it once she was sure Belial was in. "There. Unfortunately, that was the only other one I could get. We'll have to find some other means of dealing with Alice."

"She seems to have vanished," Allen said. "At least, I can't feel her presence anymore. But then someone..."

"Kazuya, it's wonderful to see you again," a woman said, exactly who he didn't want to hear. He turned quickly and grabbed Yuka's hand when she did the same. "Not so much you, but at least we can all talk this out now."

"I told you that I don't want to see you anymore," Kazuya said to Yuriko. Suspiciously, she had not changed either.

"It's ugly that you keep struggling like that, when you'd be in complete bliss with me at your side," Yuriko said, holding a hand out to him. "What does she have that I don't?"

"My love," Kazuya said, making Yuka smile. Yuriko's jealousy-fueled anger briefly showed through. "She's also respectful and loyal. She and I were friends long before we started going out, while you just went straight for grabbing my butt and harassing me in a way I don't like. I said it before and it will never change: I don't want you near me."

"Wh-why do you always choose her?" Yuriko demanded, her arms shaking out of anger. "Why am I always denied what I deserved from the very start? I was the first, you should never have forgotten me!"

"What are you talking about?" Kazuya asked.

"You should remember me!" she yelled and threw her arm out. All of a sudden, the clothes got ripped off her body and a long spotted snake wrapped around her shoulders. Her black hair was wilder and her presence was enough to cause the demon summoning program to beep, identifying her as a demon. "If I have to kill you and wipe your soul's memory yet again to make sure that your next life returns to me, I… I..." she rapidly shifted from angry to being in tears. "Ah, I can't do that, I can't kill you. But why won't you ever choose me?"

"I already have her and I don't want another," Kazuya said, at the risk of getting her angry again. Because that was the truth, no matter now many times this demon tried to make it out to be otherwise.

Then the room lightened immensely as a familiar angel appeared in the room with them. Haniel shifted his red wings. "Lilith, be gone from here," he said, gesturing to her.

"No, I've done nothing to deserve this!" she wailed, but the angel's power overcame her and she vanished.

Haniel shifted his wings again to bring his hand back in. "She shouldn't trouble you any longer."

"Thank you, Haniel," Kazuya said, surprised at this. But it was becoming clear that he needed some way to be able to stand up for himself with the powerful demons and angels around in this time. Even if it was only as a summoner who commanded other demons.

"You're welcome, although, may I ask something of you in exchange?" the angel said. "I believe you attended the police academy in Kichijoji thirty years ago. In the time since then, a scientist has set up a lab there to create mechanical soldiers as a police force to overtake the entirety of this land. He is close to having his initial strike force ready; they will slaughter humans, demons, and angels alike. Would you please go there and destroy this robotic force? There may be something only you can do there as a former student."

Mechanical soldiers? It sounded strange, but to prevent his school from becoming a birthplace of a massacre like that, he nodded. "Sure, I should be able to get there quickly."

"Thank you, we await your success." Then the angel turned to Allen's soul. "And Allen, I came primarily for you. You have learned of your destiny."

"So it was real," he said with a nervous awe. "I'm not sure I can. I mean, I'd like to, but, I'm dead now. My body was destroyed."

"That is no problem to us," Haniel said, extending his hand to him. "It is almost better that you did since now I can bring you straight to our Lord Himself to discuss the matter, as well as your mission on this Earth."

"Ah, yes," he said. "Well then Kazuya, Yuka, good luck with the police academy. And this isn't goodbye; I know I will see you both again."

"Good, we'll be seeing you then," Yuka said, smiling at him.

"Right, see you later." There was still a chance, although it was going to get even slimmer with whatever this mission of his entailed. Allen seemed happy as he took Haniel's hand and vanished with him.

* * *

Warm light that came from the presence of the divine, a golden path underneath his feet, the sound of unearthly beautiful music in the air… yet this was a new beginning, Allen thought. "I thank You for choosing me, unworthy as I may be; I'll do all that I can in Your name."

He wasn't alone in the presence of God. Haniel was there, of course, as were four angels whom he suspected were the powerful seraphs who often led heaven's army in great wars. And, there was the Voice of God, an angel who spoke for Him as a human soul could not handle the actual voice of God without a means of defense against such raw power. "No, you are the one most worthy of what He wishes to be done. The Mesian Church has made many preparations already, but you must pave the way for God to be able to come down to Earth."

"What must I do for that, my lord?" Allen asked.

"There are several factors running interference. First, there are guardians from the old Japanese gods who are keeping God from descending to Tokyo. You will need to summon a special god who has agreed to work for us: Vishnu. He will counter their efforts."

Shouldn't God be able to overtake any of the gods that He had already proven as false? And why count on one of them? But no, he shouldn't question this. It was God's wisdom; it must be right. "Yes, I will see to that."

"Next, we need to have more believers within Tokyo, to gather all into the Cathedral to keep them safe when the Wrath of God descends to make sure the slate is wiped clean for the next stage of history."

The Wrath of God? After Japan had been nuked, and who knew what had happened to the rest of the world? But, it was God's decision, as terrible as it was. There were demons, along with the wicked ones among humanity. But what about good people like Kazuya? He shouldn't question this, but.. no, he shouldn't question this.

The Voice of God went on. "You will need to preach to the people of Tokyo and convert them to the Mesian faith, and quickly. You will be granted the power of many miracles to achieve this. If you perform one with sufficient witnesses, move to the next area. We need your power to be seen in many places in a short amount of time."

"Yes, I'll do that," Allen agreed. He wanted to show others the greatness of God. Although, this didn't seem quite right. Maybe it just wasn't what he expected? Had those dreams been too high? But that was nonsense. God was the Almighty. What was… no, he couldn't lose faith, not when they were asking him to represent God in the world.

"In particular, we would like you to break up the court of the Chaos judge in Ikebukuro, for he is intimidating the righteous and excusing many who would learn evil ways from the demons. You will defeat that false judge; Haniel will accompany you actively then, but he will mostly be unseen in watching over you."

Defeat a demon judge… well, he could count on Haniel. "Yes, I understand."

"Good. And when Haniel warns you, be quick to retreat to the Cathedral yourself. When that time comes, do not delay for anyone."

Would they not delay for him? But then, it was on God's time. "Yes."

"And there is one last task, one that was your first," the Voice of God said. "You must convince your friend Kazuya to accept the tenants of Law and support our cause. This is vital to our success."

"Kazuya is?" Allen asked. "I want to, but is he so important?"

"Very much so," the Voice of God said. "He is the fulcrum on which the future of the world turns. His decisions will move the entire world. This is because he bears the soul of the first man, Adam."

His eyes widened at that. "Really? Then, that's why Lilith was after him?"

"She's a delusional spirit who got propped up as real by many fools," Haniel said. "It is unsurprising that she could not fool or tempt the first man. But he must be returned to God."

"Yes," the Voice of God agreed. "His memories of his true nature have long been lost; he and the first woman continually seek each other and the paradise they lost. They must be returned. But to do so, we cannot remind them directly of who they are. They must choose to return to God of their own will, both of them."

And they had all these other tasks to ask of him too. Could he accomplish all that? How long did he have? "That would be right," Allen said. "I'll keep talking to them and convert them."

"Good, then we will send you back to your duties on Earth, Messiah," the Voice of God said. "And the seraphs here will follow to guide the last stages of the Cathedral's completion."

Allen bowed. Before he could think of anything to say, he was whisked away again. But something wasn't right. He was honored to have been brought before God, yes, and even more honored to act for Him on Earth. But, it still felt like something was missing from that conversation. Something he wanted, something he'd expected out of a meeting like that. Maybe he was just imagining things or projecting his own doubts in himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

But, he'd have to keep that to himself. Haniel breathed life back into him, giving him a new body and leading him to appear somewhere beautiful. Many in the clothes of Mesian believers were there, turning at the sudden light among them. Allen stepped towards them, still wondering what he should say. But they already recognized him. They were quick to bow low to his presence, holding him with the wonder that he had once had for Haniel on their first meeting.

Words came to him that didn't seem like he could have thought of them himself. "My brethren, I have returned from death to lead the lost sons of man back to the love of God."

And they believed him immediately, holding him in highest honor.

* * *

Kichijoji had become almost nothing. The lip of a crater was visible to the south as they exited the battered terminal room that used to be on the fourth floor of the Echo building. Both Kazuya and Yuka, at least in her last life, had grown up here, might have spent their whole lives here together with his mother and then raising their children. The whole neighborhood was gone, with barely any traces of the foundations of the homes that had once been here. The underground mall that he'd spent so much time in was collapsed into itself, so there was no point searching there.

But for some reason, the police academy and part of the nearby station still stood here, lone survivors among unusable structures and ruins. And, there were a few new constructs, large steel warehouses.

"There should be a lot more here, shouldn't there?" Yuka said, taking his arm.

"This area was my whole life," he said, pulling her closer. "And nearly all of it is gone now."

"Kaz," she hugged him.

He let her for a moment, his thoughts messed up a little in accepting the reality of this. But unnatural sounds snapped him out of it. "It's gone, but I should take care of what's here. Like whatever that is."

It turned out to be a white and silver robot, patrolling around on four legs. A single red dot in a glass hubcap, like an eye, turned to them. "Living creatures found," it droned. "Not demons. Continue patrol." It moved on past them.

"That could actually be useful," Kazuya said, some new ideas coming to him on seeing an actual robot.

"We'd still better check the academy, in case the angel was right about them turning against humanity," Yuka said. He nodded, so they headed off to his former school.


	13. Robocop

His ID card still worked for getting them past the front gate, recently reinforced so that the wall carried all around the building. A vegetable garden was here, suggesting that someone was indeed living here and trying to eek out a decent life. But when they got into the building itself, a cursed darkness fell over them. They didn’t have Allen’s Kodachi of Light to cut through it this time. He made sure he had Yuka’s hand, letting him see her face a little. He smiled to reassure her, then led the way inside. If they were using those robots outside, then the computer lab seemed like a logical place to start.

He just had to recall his way there. Metal footsteps could be heard as other robots walked around. Putting his hand on the wall, Kazuya found a familiar sign, then mentally adjusted himself to where the lab would be. It was on ground level for ease of students who wanted to use it for studies, as certain databases they sometimes accessed weren’t available to civilian computers like his comp.

Suddenly, Yuka gasped and jumped closer to him. “Something touched me,” she said quietly.

“What’s out there?” he asked, reflexively lifting his arm to check his comp. It was harder to make out in this darkness, but hopefully the demon analyze still worked.

“Seeeee yooooouuuu….” a rough and echo-filled voice said from very close by. Then Kazuya felt something touch him too, like a wire that had a rubber end. The rubber bit pinched him.

And… there, this was a Watcher. “Yes, we know you’re there, Watcher,” Kazuya said.

There was an unearthly gargle in response that the program faithfully translated. “OoooOoohh, you must be one of the new summoners. Faaascinating. You both look faaaascinating. May I tear you apart?”

“No, we’re rather not have that,” he said.

“But then I won’t get to see what makes you human summoners tick,” the watcher said, moving ahead of them. It was uncomfortably close even though he could barely make out an impression where something was in the darkness. “Hmm, then we’ll have to go for questions, very slow process, yes. Would rather be methodical.”

“Is there another human around here?” Kazuya asked, hoping to keep its mind off vivisecting them.

“Oh yes, yes yes, but that one has an addled mind,” the watcher said. “Very high intelligence, that one, very. But mad as a lonely abomination in the depths of the Abysssss, yes. One would rather have subjects with healthy minds to examine.”

“We have things to do that we need to stay alive for,” he said, which made Yuka nod along. “Including stopping that person from using his robots to kill everyone else.”

“Hmm, that does sound like what the addled one would do,” it said, shifting its location again. “Hmm. Say, I wonder, just who are you?”

“Kazuya, and this is my soulmate Yuka,” he said.

“Ooooo, even more fascinating,” the watcher said eagerly. “Yes, I have heard of you. You bested many demons, even traversed the years in an inhuman way. Hmm, it would not do for me to perish before I satisfy my curiosity. And, there is a curiosity that I have not been able to fulfill alone. I have heard that there is a man, another of vast intelligence, who has been modernizing demon fusion. I should like to attempt a three demon fusion, even if I end up as one of the components myself. It would progress knowledge greatly.”

“I haven’t tried that,” Kazuya said. “But I do have enough demons for it, and I should be trying to get a stronger stock overall to match the threats out there.”

“Well then, if we match each other’s needs, I see no reason to hesitate,” it said. The contract prompt popped up on his comp. “Do we have a deal?”

“Sure, I’ll involve you in a three-demon fusion,” he said, accepting it.

“Excellent. I am Yoma Watcher, at your command. So then, you wish to fight the addled one? I do not mind that. Can you find your way?”

“I know this place, I should be able to find him,” Kazuya said. “Thank you, Watcher.”

“Of course.”

“It’s not going to poke us anymore, is it?” Yuka asked.

“It shouldn’t,” Kazuya said. “I can always rebuke it if it does.”

Further down the hall, they arrived outside the computer lab. The sound of a keyboard being used was a good sign that they had the right place. When they passed through the door, the cursed dark ended and they were in a well-lit room. But instead of the familiar rows of computers he’d been in before, all the computers had been wired up together into one with a giant monitor bearing a shoddy-looking 3D model of a face. A man who looked the part of a classic mad scientist, with wild uncombed hair and a messy doctor’s coat, was working at the input station near the monitor.

“Hold up, what are you doing here?” Kazuya asked, using a tone of interrogation.

“Who bothers me now?” the scientist demanded, slamming a fist on the desk and making his mug nearly splatter out. “I’m almost finished, so don’t stop me now!”

“What are you doing?” he repeated, drawing his gun.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he asked. “I’ve been replacing the fallen police force with mechanical cops that won’t ever step out of line or have a moment of misplaced empathy. And then we’re going to take over the whole world, eliminating any and all troublemakers who won’t answer to me as their new master.” Then he shrugged. “But don’t want to stretch myself out too thin early on. I’ve got enough of a force of overtake Tokyo and stop all the madness here. It’s a good start.”

“Sorry, I can’t agree to that,” Kazuya said. “You’d be a tyrant with that kind of thinking. If you mean to harm other humans in this, I will stop you.”

“Bah, humans are responsible for this whole mess, so they ought to be eliminated,” the scientist said. “If the great Dr. Manu had ever gotten started, he would have fixed everything before it ever started! His only mistake was working in biology, not robotics. I’ll fix that, and carry on his legacy.”

“Manu was insane and I was one of those who stopped him,” he said, then fired at the mug as a warning.

The scientist squalled and hastily got the keyboard out of the way of the cold coffee in there. “Dagnabit, look what you’ve done now! That was my best mug! Unit Terminator, eliminate this monster!”

A mass of electronics that had seemed harmless suddenly unfolded itself, growing to be an eight-foot tall humanoid with guns for arms. “Orders acknowledged, eliminate monsters,” the terminator unit responded, firing wildly around the room. And the first one hit was the addled scientist, shot fatally in the head.

“Watcher, do what you can against it!” Kazuya ordered as he ducked with Yuka under a desk.

“Oooh yes, eagerly,” the Watcher said, then lashed out its wired tentacles deep into the terminator. Crackles of electricity flashed between them. The terminator spasmed; the Watcher’s one eye rolled oddly. “OoooOoooOooo, soooo goood….”

It was weird, but it was working. Between that, his other demon’s attacks, and Yuka’s spells, the terminator unit fell apart and ceased to work. While the Watcher giggled at itself, Kazuya went to the keyboard. “I’m not sure what to do here, but maybe I can get Steven into the network,” he thought aloud.

“Yeah, it’d be nice if those robots only took out demons,” Yuka said. “I haven’t a clue what to do either; they didn’t let me work with many computers, but I managed to use the terminals.”

“Those are simple enough once you’re registered,” he said.

The 3D face model suddenly spoke up. “Current head of police and district chief of police have been confirmed deceased. Police ID card found nearby. Scanning.”

“Were you actually an officer?” Yuka asked, trying to recall something.

“I was a rookie before the disaster,” he said.

“Novice personnel Kazuya of the Kichijoji District found,” it said.

“See?” he said.

“Checking personnel history,” the computer said. “Excelled in training exercises and classes, favored as top rookie of his class.”

“You didn’t mention that you were that good,” Yuka said.

“I didn’t know that,” he replied.

“Was cited for early promotion,” the computer said for a further surprise. “This was for: demonstrated excellent capacity to lead and protect citizens in a dangerous situation, stopped a criminal doctor from continuing a series of human experimentation that resulted in a 95% death rate, and aiding citizens across the city of Tokyo without requiring fees or rewards. Instructors noted that he was due to be a valuable leader among the force.”

“Uh,” Kazuya rubbed his head. “Not this either, but it sounds like what I did.” Yuka chuckled and squeezed his hand.

“As no other active officer has yet been recognized by this unit of the robotics division of the police force of Tokyo, Kazuya is requested to become the leader of the robotics division. Will you accept, Kazuya?”

“Head of a division of robotic cops?” he asked. “Well, can’t say I ever thought I’d be doing that. But...”

“But it would get the robots to fight for the people of Tokyo, since that’s what we want,” Yuka said.

He nodded and went to the keyboard. “That’s right.” He accepted the request for the position. “Now, uh, let’s clean up this room and see if we can’t do something about that cursed dark. This should be a good spot for us to hold as our own base.”

“Sure,” Yuka said, uneasily almost looking at the scientist’s body. “Let’s… do that. Um, the police academy would have something to clean up blood and bodies, right?”

“Yes, I know where that is,” he said.

By the time they had the scientist’s body outside and buried, the computer had cleared up all of the darkness curse in the academy and delivered his new badge as not just head of the robotics division, but as the head of all Tokyo police. The force was only him and the robots now, but perhaps that authority would be respected.

* * *

To Steven:

This doesn’t have to do with the program, but due to good circumstances, I’ve been recognized by the police department’s remaining computer AI. Specifically, I’m now the police chief and the head of the robotics division, which was started up by some mad scientist we never found the name for. There’s a number of robotic cops here who are capable of fighting demons without direct human command.

But I don’t know how to organize the robots or make sure they won’t turn on humanity like the scientist planned. If I added you as a technology officer, could you check up on their programming and make sure they’d work to defend humans?

From Kazuya.

To Kazuya

Congratulations on your recognition, even if it is unorthodox. You should let news of that get around; I believe it would be greatly encouraging to people and give you better recognition when you travel around.

I am able to check up on the robotic troops once you give me access to the network they use. I have no wish to be a big name or recognized by everyone. But to protect humanity, I’ll perform that kind of operations as a freelancer. If you could locate some mechanics to make sure the robots are in good condition, such things should be self-sufficient out on patrol.

From Steven

* * *

With the aid of the police computers, and the safety of the dorms for overnight, Kazuya had gotten a good picture of how Tokyo was currently. He’d also noted some places to investigate: Gaea’s Court, Destiny Land, the Radio Tower, Shinegawa and the central temple of Gaea. The Cathedral itself would have to wait until it floated to its permanent home in the bay. Most of those locations were under Gaean control; their temple wasn’t a wise place to start, so perhaps Destiny Land or Ikebukuro where the court was. He could only access Ikebukuro of the two, which made it an appealing choice. He didn’t want to get too close to the Mesians and make the Gaeans suspicious when he came around asking questions.

“But I also want to visit Shinjuku, or if that’s too much of a fuss, Ginza,” Kazuya said as they looked over a map of the city as it had been. A computer screen nearby showed a current map from a miraculously working satellite. “I need to get to the Heretic Mansion there. We should be able to see where the shrine was from here in the academy. Since we can’t, I have to go elsewhere to do the fusion Watcher wants to try.”

“That might work out for this morning, before we raise too much of a fuss,” Yuka said. “What exactly are you looking for?”

He closed his eyes. “I...” there was a feeling of what he needed to do, facets starting to form, “I want to see what their plans for the future are. What ideals they state and which they actually uphold. Both the Mesians and the Gaeans are involved in supernatural forces; I want to be sure that they actually have humanity’s interests in mind, rather than merely following what angels and demons tell them will win this conflict. Winning isn’t the point. What everyone’s future will be is more important.”

“I like that plan,” Yuka said.

Then there was a rapping at the window. A black bird was out there, tapping the glass with its beak and holding a rolled up paper against one of its three legs. Wondering, Kazuya checked his comp to see what it was. “Yagatarasu,” Kazuya said, then decided to go open the window.

“Wasn’t that a messenger of the gods?” Yuka asked. “But they’re now demons.”

“He's one of the Japanese gods,” he pointed out. “We may as well listen to what they have to say.” He had to open up the storm screen as well to let the crow inside.

“You are the summoner who is a leader among the police force, yes?” Yagatarasu asked, only translated by the program.

“Yes, though there’s not much left of the police force,” Kazuya said. “I’m Kazuya.”

The crow bobbed his head. “Good.” He then stuck out the leg with the message, using the other two to stay steady on the windowsill. “That makes you a protector of Tokyo. Lord Masakado wishes to send an invitation to you.”

“Really?” When the crow bobbed his head again, he told Yuka, “It’s a message from Masakado.” When she gave him a blank look, he explained, “A human general renowned as a hero who eventually became recognized as the guardian deity of Tokyo after his death. I can’t take other gods at their word, but he is most likely the sort to want to help humanity selflessly, a least those in this land.”

“I see.” She shrugged. “Sorry, the Mesians didn’t want us students studying other belief systems. I knew this crow by luck, more or less. But if you trust him, I’ll trust you both.”

He unrolled the message and found a nicely done piece of calligraphy. ‘Officer Kazuya, I wish to assist in your fighting those who have invaded and nearly destroyed our country. There is little time available to us, but over the next four days, I would like you to visit the shrines of four of my followers. You have become renown as a summoner, but they will help you better your own fighting capabilities so that you need not rely on demons to protect the people of Tokyo. Should you gain their approval in those four days, I would like to meet with you myself on the fifth. Maskado Taira’

“He wants to train me to protect others,” Kazuya said.

“Don’t you already do that?” Yuka asked.

He smiled. “I was trained as a policeman for a world without demons. I’ve only made it this far due to the demon summoning program, and Jin and Allen. I need to be able to hold my own; he and his followers should be able to help me do that.”

“Well, why not?” she said, smiling back.

Yagatarasu then made a second smaller note and a strange charm appear in his beak. He set it down on the windowsill. “Then if you accept Lord Masakado’s challenge, you will need this key to open the doors in the shrines. That paper notes where the four shrines are located. Good luck, officer.” The crow bowed, then flew off into the sky.

It was risky, but he decided to take the terminal to Shibuya because he was sure he could get to the Heretic Mansion, then get to another location with the terminal quickly. Shortly after they got out of the terminal room, they heard a woman scream in the hall they entered. A Bogle was lurching after her, ready to club her.

“Stop, bogle!” Kazuya yelled, quickly shooting it to get its attention. When it turned, the woman ran into a nearby room. Watcher was quick to finish the bogle off, along with several other demons that came to see what was going on.

Once it seemed clear, Yuka knocked on the door. “M’am? Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, thank you,” she said through the door. “Are they gone?”

“For the moment,” Kazuya said, activating his audio recording program. “Could you come out and answer a few questions?”

“Okay,” she said, opening the door. She noticed the badge he’d pinned to his armor. “Are you one of the cops? But, Ozawa’s dead and they all scattered. And you don’t look so gaudy.”

“I’m not one of his men,” he said. “I’m a policeman of Tokyo. So Ozawa is dead?”

She nodded. “Yes, and his chief of police. They were all fakes, but we couldn’t do anything against them even if many of us grumbled. But now that the fake police are gone, all the demons have swarmed into Shinjuku. We thought we were safe down here, but early this morning, they started coming down.”

“I see,” he said, opening up his comp. Steven worked fast; a good third of the robotic units were secured and ready to be deployed. They were programmed to primarily target Dark aligned demons that always put humans in danger, but they would attack other demons that were threatening humans. He called on four of them to transport to Shinjuku to clear out the underground mall. “Is there any knowledge of who killed him?”

She put a hand to her cheek. “Um, somebody pulled an image off a security camera and posted it in the bar. It seemed like some kind of demon, one that looked almost human. But if it was, that was when Ozawa’s thugs had the mall secured and the other demons didn’t seem aware of things immediately.”

That was odd. “All right, we’ll go take a look. Do you know where any other people might be here?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I think the bar and some shops were being barricaded, as well as a few of the homes. But I know I’ve seen others who’ve died. I thought that scene when Ozawa died was horrible, but this is much worse.”

He nodded. “Does the room you’re in have any access points, even a vent?”

“Um,” she glanced back. “There is a ventilation vent.”

“Shift it to mostly closed if you can; Yuka, can you give her one of the rosaries to put on the vent? Just in case.”

“Sure, that should keep the room safe,” she said, taking one from her bag. “It’ll work no matter what you believe, just hang it somewhere in there.”

“Thank you,” the woman said, accepting it.

“One other thing I need to do,” Yuka said, crouching down with a piece of chalk. She drew a line over the threshold and made some markings. “Once I have this done, this room will be secure from demons with the rosary hung on a wall. It’s not perfect, but it will do for the moment. We may bring other humans we find without shelter here until we can clear out the mall.”

“Thank you,” the woman said. Then the terminal door opened, nearly getting her to shut the door again. The four robots clanked out and went to search for demons. “What are those?”

“They’re part of the police now,” Kazuya said. “Don’t worry, we made sure they won’t attack humans on purpose. I call them in to help clear the mall and secure it again.”

“Oh good,” she said. “I wish I could do something for you for saving me.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about that now, we’re here to protect people. Hopefully we can clear out this place quickly.”

With the robots hunting down demons, Kazuya and Yuka went in search of the other survivors. There was blood and torn apart bodies everywhere; these halls would have to be cleaned out well to make sure they were still suitable to live in. People had hastily put up barricades of chairs, sofas, tables, and whatever else they could find close at hand. For a few of them, it hadn’t been enough. Others had managed to grab guns or other weapons to protect a roomful of others. Kazuya questioned them, explained what he was doing, then moved on to continue the search.

It took several hours to do this, but they got the mall cleared of demons again. Kazuya then ordered the four robots to guard the entrances, allowing humans to come and go. Later, he could see about assigning some to clear out the outer region of Shinjuku. Keeping the people here safe and adding robot guards to other towns had to take priority for the moment.

The people left in Shinjuku sent a person to speak with him before they could leave. “We thought we were done for, but you’ve saved us all,” she said. “Do you want to take over as leader of our town?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m looking to reestablish a police guard with these robots all across Tokyo. I’m gong to visit other towns and help them out too, hopefully to bring us all back together. If you want to help, then we could use someone good with mechanics to keep the robots in good condition.”

“I see; it would be good if that could happen. There are a couple of guys here that are good with repairing technology like that. And, here, consider it tax money for your support.” She offered him a sum of makka, the current currency. “We don’t have much right now, so this is all everyone could pool together.”

“That’s fine, thanks for your support,” Kazuya said, accepting it. Since he was basically the police force with Yuka, the robots, and Steven helping him, he did need the funds to pay mechanics and keep everything going.

Since they were safe, he headed for the Heretic Mansion entrance next. There was a question he had for the manager there. “Did you fuse a human named Jin with a demon?”

He nodded. “Oh yes, he came in with quite the specimen in a Guillotine Scorpion. You don’t see those in just any old place; I didn’t think any would be in Tokyo now. It came out successfully, with a tremendous growth of strength and speed in Jin.”

So he hadn’t been able to stop that from happening either. “Ah, I see. Well it was his decision; I just hope he doesn’t regret it. Besides that, I have some other business here. I’d like to try your three demon fusion.

The manager’s eyes lit up. “Excellent, I’ve been hoping for that! So, who do you have in mind?”

“Well I agreed to involve this Watcher in the fusion,” he said, waving the demon forward. “We just have to figure out the other two.

“I don’t care, as long as I get to try it,” Watcher said, waving its tentacles eagerly.

“Let’s see who you have...” the manager said. “I can tell some combinations will be fruitless, so,” he tapped at his computer.

After discussing it, Kazuya decided to add Angel and Dryad to the fusion. Some of his two-demon fusions would get him a better healer than even Angel, one who had Marin-Karin to add that to his possible moves again. And of who he had and who he could potentially fuse, those two were currently the weakest. Dervish… no, Joker now, it was too unstable to try fusing.

Other than adding in the third tube to dissolve that demon as well, the process worked just the same as normal. The symbol in the center flickered bringing up… for a moment, it looked like the silhouette of a rather large slime. Then the slime got ripped apart and replaced by another demon, one that was eerily familiar. “Hi Kazuya!”

“Uh, hello Alice,” he said, smiling although he was nervous.

“Oh dear, I wasn’t expecting that,” the manager said, checking over his notes. “Is it the Abyssal new moon, or the combination? Hmm...”

“Yup. I’m the Fiend Alice,” she said with a smile. “Um, is this really a contract? Cause you never gave me gifts and you said contracts involved gifts.”

“Fusion is different,” he said, but he was quick to grab a Hiranya drink from storage. “But, I did buy this for you in Shibuya. Sorry I didn’t give it to you earlier; I couldn’t find you after getting it.”

She beamed at that. “Goody, thanks!” She clasped the drink and twirled around. “So, then, can I ask something else of you? Would you please die for me?”

The question made his blood grow cold. She really was an innocent evil like Allen had said. “No, sorry, I can’t do that.” And, he did have her under contract. Right? Or was she too strong for him to control?

“Aaaa, why not?” she whined, pouting again. The lights in the room flickered. “Death isn’t so bad. You don’t have to worry about getting sick, or growing up, although you’re already an adult but you wouldn’t grow old. You could have fun forever, and we’d be the best of friends, me, and you, and your princess here.”

“I have things to do that I have to stay alive for, which I need my living memory for,” he said, trying to act calm when he was piecing together anything she might understand. It was clear from her more readable data now that she could easily kill them all here in a second if she had a reason to.

But she didn’t get angry. Instead, Alice started crying. “But,” she sniffed, “but I don’t have any friends anymore, nobody that’s dead like I am. All the people that were dancing and singing, they’re all gone without a word, not a goodbye to me. And,” she sniffed again, “Mr. Red… and Mr. Black… both of them are just gone. I can’t find either of them. They were my best friends, but now I’m alone. Please, please won’t you die for me and be my friend in death?”

“Erm, if I may interject here,” the manager said, intimidated by her too. “Alice, well, you’re in contract with Kazuya now, and you will face punishment for killing him while that contract stands.”

“What?” She stamped a foot and seemed like she could get angry. The lights went out briefly, during which her eyes glowed bright.

“Actually, can we get those two demons recalled as Kazuya’s followers, like her?” Yuka asked as the lights came back on. “I, well, I have the jars that are sealing them.” She leaned closer to him. “The demons don’t remember, right?”

“Don’t know in this case,” he whispered back. Then he said, “Yeah, that’d make things better. Alice, you want Mr. Black and Mr. Red as teammates, don’t you?”

“You can do that?” she asked quietly.

“Those are gushing jars, correct?” the manager said, checking his instruments. “Then yes, I should be able to call them out in contract with you, although it does rely on them responding to the request. Just, set the jar, one at a time, on one of the front circles.”

“Oh, yes, thank you thank you!” Alice said, running over and hugging him. “You’re great, Mr. Kazuya! I guess I can wait around until you die normally.”

“I can deal with that,” he said as Yuka set one of the jars in the summoning circle.

The manager had to fiddle with the settings so that only one of the tubes came down. When it was complete, Nebiros in his demon form was there. “A strange calling, and yet I recognize your power. I am Nebiros, at your command.”

“Yay, Mr. Black is back!” Alice said joyfully, running up to hug him.

However, Nebiros’ eyes went wide and he stumbled back. “Ah, wh-wh-what is this? You...”

Alice stopped short of the summoning circle. “Oh come on, Mr. Black! Don’t you remember me? We were the bestest of best friends.”

“No, but, uh,” if he was human, he’d be sweating now, “Uh, she is under your control, isn’t she?”

“More or less, haven’t really tested it,” Kazuya said.

“Why don’t you remember?” Alice said, sniffling and covering her eyes.

“That’s something I can’t quite explain,” the manager said, slipping into his technicalities. “I suppose it would be possible to pass memories from demon to demon with fusion technology, since it occurs with other changes. It’d require more tweaking, hmm, but it might be possible for the demon to pass on skills too...”

Leaving him to his mad science, Kazuya went over to Alice and patted her shoulder. “This is part of why I refused your request. I don’t want to lose my memories, and I don’t want my friends to lose their memories either.”

“Oh, was I doing a bad thing?” she said, sniffling still. She buried her face in his side. “I want him to remember me.”

“Uh,” Nebiros looked very uncomfortable. But he recognized her power and didn’t want to face it. “Well, kid, we’re on the same team now, so we’ll end up making new memories together. Maybe. So, don’t cry. We can be friends again.”

“Really?” she asked, smiling through her tears. “I guess that works. Okay, so I’ve got to be a good demon to Mr. Kazuya then? I can do that, and make lots of demon friends with everybody he summons. That works! So what about Mr. Red?”

“Maybe once I have the modifiers ironed out,” the manager muttered, lost in his geekery.

“I have the other pot here,” Yuka said, setting it in place. Nebiros got off the circle, still wary of Alice but trying not to make her mad. “Uh, sir?”

“Huh?” He finally looked up. “Oh! Oh, sorry, that was just a fascinating idea. But it will require more experimentation! All right, you’ve got the other jar, so here we go...”

A minute later, the tall and serpentine Belial was with them too. “I am Belial, at your command,” he said as usual.

“Yay, new friends from old friends!” Alice called out in glee, going up to hug him.

“W-wait, what is this?!” he said, equally startled and intimidated. Kazuya went over to quickly explain things to him. Fortunately, he was agreeable to playing along to keep Alice from killing them all.

“Are we playing a game?” Alice asked, stopped from her dancing around on hearing that.

“No, but you can make a game out of nearly anything,” Yuka said. “I got through so many boring lessons that way.”

“We could be playing a game, so let’s play being a family!” Alice said. “So Mr. Black and Mr. Red are the nice uncles,”

“Huh?” Belial asked, looking to Nebiros. He shook his head, but whispered something to him.

“And you’re the Mommy,” Alice went on to Yuka,” and you’re the Daddy,” she said to Kazuya, “and I’m the happy little daughter, right?”

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” Kazuya said, smiling. “Come on then, Alice, we have places to go today.”

“Yay, let’s go!” she said, then bolted out the door.

“Thanks again,” he said to the manager, who waved distractedly while working on his new theory. “Well, looks like we have a daughter now.”

Yuka giggled. “Oh good, can I teach her some tricks?”

He laughed and pulled her close briefly as they walked out of the Heretic Mansion. “If it distracts her from the tricks that involve killing people, sure.”

With that taken care of, they left for Shibuya to find the shrine. It was off among a grove of trees that seemed like they should be older than the destruction of Tokyo. Given who had contacted him about this, it was probably the same as the strange old shrine that had been in his neighborhood. This was not in normal lands.

The old doors were sealed shut, but placing the four-gem charm on them opened the shrine up. The halls were similar to the other shrine was well, with traditional wooden floors and red walls. But while that shrine had no demons aside from the Heretic Mansion, this shine was patrolled by very strong demons. But then, he had Alice, Belial, and Nebiros now, all of whom could match the guards here. Alice in particular had some trick with her cards that simply annihilated anyone unfortunate enough to get hit by it.

In the central room of the shrine, they came upon a stone statue of a warrior in what seemed like a fighting dojo; the pedestal and location said this was Zouchouten. After a moment, the statue breathed itself into color and life. “You were Kazuya, the one whom Lord Masakado took notice of,” he said.

“Yes,” he said, showing the four door charm. “He said you’d help train me so I didn’t have to rely on being a summoner.” Off to the side, Yuka was trying to keep Alice occupied. She’d refused to get recalled just yet, so he wasn’t strong enough to have full control over her.

“Yes, you will have need of such ability soon,” Zouchouten said, then shifted his stance. A sheathed katana appeared in his hand. “Here, you will need this to replace the weapon you’re currently using.”

“I don’t know how to fight with a sword of any kind,” Kazuya said, although he accepted it. And something lit up within his mind as he did. He hadn’t known how, but now he did.

“It would be preferable if you had natural skill,” the heavenly king said. “Since we must raise your skill rapidly, passing on the knowledge directly will have to do. But even that is little good without practice. Today, you will spar with me to begin your lessons."

Since they would get in the way, he removed the tonfa and stored them away for the time being. But he wouldn’t remove the comp; that was pretty much a part of him. “All right, I’ll accept that.”

The katana was made of bamboo, being a practice weapon. But it still had an edge. And with the right methods, it could be quite damaging. But given who his sparring opponent was, the main danger of cutting the lesson short was if he himself got injured.


	14. The Rise of Four Heroes

Jin looked up at the top of the Radio Tower, wondering if it had gotten rebuilt just as it had been. Or maybe it truly withstood the nuclear strikes and just needed some new paint? Whatever it was, it was now owned by the Mesian Church. They were using the tower to broadcast their mind-numbing sermons, choirs, and staged debates 24/7.

"This is gonna be a debate you can't win," Jin said, smiling to himself.

When he'd left Shinjuku, he'd headed off to Ikebukuro on a whim and ended up before the Court of Chaos. But the court had praised him for his decisions, as well as how he wiped out Ozawa's stranglehold over Shinjuku. The judge then asked him to perform some tasks to prove his worth further, after which he'd put Jin in contact with the leader of Gaean sect. And not the human leader, but the actual demon leaders who were coordinating all the efforts across Tokyo to eliminate the Mesians.

And one task was to shut down the Mesian broadcasts, by whatever means possible. He liked that idea; he'd heard way too much of that junk when he'd still been living with his mother. His step-father would only allow Mesian approved shows and music in the house, forcing Jin and his siblings to miss out on good stuff. Now that they were doing that to everyone, he wanted to free the city from that madness.

They had one of their protective lines and rosaries around to keep demons out. But as it turned out, that didn't apply to him. All he had to do was scuff up the chalk line with his foot and the whole thing would be undone with that one little leak. They were alert to his presence quickly, since there wasn't anything he could do to hide his demonic appearance. "Halt, you will not get any further into this facility, demon!" a priest said, quick to have his symbols on hand.

Jin snorted. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try and stop me." He brought out his axe and swung to kill with one blow. This should go quickly.

But it wouldn't hurt to do things even quicker, right? There had been a skill lingering in his mind that he hadn't tried out yet; he'd wanted to kill Ozawa with his own hands. Now was a good time. He held his hand out and focused. This was a limited kind of summoning, not like Kazuya was capable of. But it should be good.

A small scorpion crawled out of a fold of his armor, with the guillotine bladed tail and red exoskeleton. More followed from all over his body; it didn't hurt, as he only felt the pressure of their tiny legs. They hopped off him and began to grow. Not much, but as their numbers were cut down, the survivors would grow until the last was a full sized Guillotine Scorpion. If that one died, he could just call on the hundreds of little ones to get another.

"Come kill everyone in this building with me," Jin said.

The scorpions all scattered, seeking out targets. Before long, screams filled the building as the Mesians spotted the scorpions and tried to fight back. But their success at killing the little scorpions would spell their doom.

Jin headed for the elevator, waving a hand. A good number of the little scorpions followed him, so he let them off on various floors to hunt others. While they did that, he headed for the broadcast studio they used for live programs. Did they have one going on now? That would be just perfect.

As he found the cameras and ugly backdrop, he also found something he hadn't encountered yet: an angel, in particular a crowned principality. "You're a monster whom I shall stop here and now," the principality said, readying a sun-tipped staff.

"I could say the same for you," he said, feeling eager for this fight. If he could pull this off, then the judge would surely be pleased.

* * *

As Allen entered the underground mall, he was flanked by the best bodyguards in the Mesian Church. He wasn't used to this kind of treatment; it was embarrassing, actually, like his foster parents fussing over him in front of his friends. Although, not quite as bad as unexpectedly meeting his mother doing the same. Still, he kept his silence on that feeling and instead thanked them for their service. He was very important to the Church now.

And it was time to fulfill his tasks. The people here supported the Gaean cult, but were largely ignored as most of them were too weak to fight the demons. As a result, his presence caused quite a stir. People in ragged clothes eyed him suspiciously; some followed after them, either curious or possibly thinking of robbing them. But they were in need of being saved. That was why he came.

When they got to a larger opening where he meant to address these people, a group of children were playing around there. Most of them scattered on seeing them, heading to the stores nearby or to their parents off to the side. But one of them had a badly damaged leg, with the foot mostly cut off. It must have taken him some effort to get around, much less play with the others. He ended up stumbling in surprise at seeing them. "Oh, sorry," he said, nervous.

"It's all right," Allen said, moving ahead of his guards to crouch by the boy. "Did a demon do this?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I kicked it in the face and it ran."

He smiled at that. "Good, you're a brave boy. Here, you should have the ability to train yourself so you can fight them better in the future." Then he put one hand on the boy's shoulder and the other near his damaged foot.

A woman came over, likely his mother. The boy stared at him oddly, but Allen had already decided to do this. He tapped deep into his healing powers… as an older wound and so serious, it needed something far more than he usually used. That feeling of light filled him, flowing from his hands. The boy's foot came back just as it had been before the wound, as natural as the rest of him.

"There, you'll be fine now," Allen said, removing his hands.

"It's back?" he asked in shock. He put some weight on it, finding it good. Then he grinned and ran over to his mother and hopped around. "Look, look, I have a new foot!"

"Y-yes, that's wonderful," she said, although she seemed in shock herself. "Who are you, sir?"

He got back to his feet and bowed. "I am the Messiah of the Mesian church, m'am."

"Thank you for restoring him, but, we drove your church out of here a few years ago," she said, bowing back.

"I don't care about that," Allen said. "I've come to help the helpless and show everyone who we truly are. Our teachings have been distorted by those who don't understand, so I would like to help you and teach you about God's mercy for all."

People were quick to gather and listen to him after that. He'd never been much of a speaker in his own mind. But when they wanted to hear what he had to say, he found the words coming to him easily.

* * *

When Kazuya woke up, he found that Steven had gotten through restoring and modifying all the robots. The mechanics from Shinjuku had also put in some good work already. When they got around to restoring the terminator unit, even that one would fight to protect humans. And in good time too, as he had requests from a few other towns to send robot guards to help out their forces. He ordered groups of the robots to go out, taking with them postings that the ones with arms could put on the walls. The postings would let the residents know what the robots were there for, as well as some requests Kazuya had for mechanics and other jobs that could get a protection force together across the whole city.

That day and the next were spent visiting other towns and seeing if they wanted the robots. Kazuya tried to avoid the bigger towns where the Mesians or Gaeans had strong holdings. There were plenty of smaller groups of people around, finding ways to survive on their own. Despite that, they were grateful for the assistance. The major groups would ignore the small settlements unless they had something important to their goals. There were even scattered factories where the people lived and worked in large manufacturing lines, producing the goods that people still depended on. They were protected but treated poorly overall. As such, they were grateful for the robots giving them the capacity to become independent.

And in the late afternoon, he'd go to the shrines for his training. Each lesson advanced his skill with the katana. While he could not build physical strength rapidly like this, the heavenly kings were making sure that he had the skill to overcome any lacking of strength. It made the battles against demons much easier, although he still had to allow his demons (especially Alice) into battles to keep them satisfied.

He headed out for Ikebukuro on the fourth day of his training, since he could access another shrine from there. Right out of the terminal room, he spotted someone he'd seen a picture of before: the supposed demon that had killed Ozawa, the police chief of Shinjuku, and a bunch of those brute cops. He'd seemed familiar and now that they were in the same place, Kazuya knew he was. "Jin?" he called over.

"Oh, you recognize me," he said, then turned to face them fully. A nightmarish giant scorpion soon crawled up by him. "It's great to see you again, Kazuya. I'm sorry I took off suddenly the other day; I got a chance that I had to act on fast. But, that's gotten me in a much better position."

Since Jin matched the scorpion, Kazuya took a risk on him controlling it and walked over. "Are you okay? I've been worried about how you were doing since then."

"Oh sure, never been better," Jin said, excited like a kid. "I can finally do what I say I will, and it feels great! People look at me now and automatically respect my power."

"You'd look better as a card solider, but I like the color," Alice said.

"Who's this girl?" Jin asked.

"I'm his daughter!" Alice said, beaming.

"She's Alice from Roppongi, remember?" Kazuya said. "She's a fiend and so I have to make some different provisions for her to work with me."

"Holy..." he caught himself this time, "Wow, I've heard about fiends recently. That's some luck getting one to respect you; other guys around here say that finding a fiend on purpose is impossible unless they're already playing games with you. Oh yeah, speaking of the guys around here," he looked aside, then shook his head. "Man, I've been wanting to talk with you again, but not like this. You made a mistake in coming here."

"Why's that?" Yuka asked. "We're trying to set up the various towns with robot guards to help protect people from demons."

"I guess that's nice somewhere like Shinjuku where not a lot of people can fight for themselves," Jin said. "But they're gonna refuse you here, and in Ueno where the temple is. Every human who lives here is a fighter that relies on their own skills to survive, and they all live with many demons. So here, being a summoner is a crime. I don't really want to do this to you, but the judge Typhon is currently my boss and I have to arrest you on his behalf."

"What are you going to do to my Daddy?" Alice said, frowning in a worrisome way.

Kazuya patted her shoulder to stop her before she did something rash. "Hang on, Alice. That would be a problem, but that would let us talk directly to Typhon?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's a fair judgment, don't get me wrong; I've seen a few trials play out. But they're fair by Typhon's standards, which are very demonic because he's a demon, one of the Greek titans that were once gods of their own merit. He can be pretty harsh on summoners and he's so strong that he's been undefeated for his entire time here. Hey, but you're a friend so I can give you a chance to slip back out with the terminal. Otherwise I'm obligated to bring you in front of him."

"This could be bad, Kaz," Yuka said. "We don't want to go into a dangerous situation if we don't have to."

There was that; he didn't want Yuka getting hurt because of what he'd done. But then, seeing Alice still glaring at Jin and sulking for not being able to fight him gave him an idea. "Fair by demon standards, huh? I'd like to go see him, even if it's in a trial. Don't worry, Yuka, I've got some ideas."

"Man, you are one crazy guy," Jin said, an admiring look in his eyes. "All right, since you're coming willingly, I'll just take you there without restraints. You're getting infamous with demons, so it won't be hard to convince them to open up a trial for you immediately."

"Good," Kazuya said. "Hey Alice, do you want to play at being my defense lawyer in a demon court?"

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? Yay, I love playing court! Off with their heads!"

"Really?" Yuka said, although she was trying to be serious and not laugh.

"Really, who could lose with a lawyer this cute?" Kazuya said. Just as long as she didn't think it was funny to make him get a guilty verdict.

"Well then you've got to call out Mr. Black and Mr. Red to help us," Alice said. "Even if I can win all by myself, in court, you've got to have a crushing case to convince bullheaded judges. They're really smart and they can help."

"All right," Kazuya said, calling Nebiros and Belial out. He wouldn't have thought to use them as well, but they were high ranking demons too. "I'm being put on trial in front of a demon judge and I asked Alice to be my lawyer," he said as they continued along after Jin. He was listening in curiously, but not involving himself with this.

"Ah, can't go wrong with a demon lawyer in a demon court," Nebiros said. "Especially not one of her kin."

"But you guys gotta help make a crushing case to humiliate these people who think they can get the better of my Daddy," Alice said.

"Now that could be entertaining, depending on the trial format," Belial said, smiling. "Who's the judge?"

"Typhon," Kazuya said, which made Belial snicker.

They had to wait a few minutes to get into the court, during which they were locked into the waiting room. But they could hear a crowd of humans and demons through some barred windows in there. Apparently those had been put in place so the residents could jeer at the prisoners. Those who did come by seemed curious in having them be there, whether it was Alice skipping around and making court plans, or him and Yuka sticking together near the entrance to the court.

"You really are becoming well-known for having only been in this time a few days," Yuka said.

"I didn't think anything I'd done was big enough to get all this notice yet," he said. "But apparently so. I could understand Yousei demons because there was a Jack Frost who once said he'd pass word to the rest of his kin that I was a good guy to them. Maybe it spread out from them."

"Or maybe it's because you have a fiend and that causes waves," she pointed out.

"Well if we could weed out the ones who want to harm, abuse, or just use us for their own ends, there's some of the demons that seem like they'd be a boon to us," Kazuya said. Then he leaned over and whispered, "But from the sounds of the chatter out there, I don't think any demon here qualifies like that."

The door by them opened and those outside hurried to get in elsewhere. A strange man with golden skin and a striped collar came out. "Summoner Kazuya, your trial will begin immediately," he said. "Bring your..." he glanced at Alice, "companions with you. They will share your verdict."

"That is a breech of personal justice to do that with them," Kazuya said. "But since this is your town, it's your laws."

Alice giggled at that while the court official narrowed his eyes at him. He then sniffed and turned. "Come inside."

There were cheers in the auditorium like court. In front, a giant humanoid demon presented in the fashion of a judge and a god awaited them behind a rather flimsy looking set of bars; he wore nothing but a sword belt with an undecorated bronze sword. The iron bars in front of the spectators were sturdy, enchanted so that not even magic could pass. There was blood on the dirt floor, hinting that executions in court were fairly common. With no furniture in the convict's cage, so to speak, there was nowhere to sit but the floor. There was a large metal chain tied to a concrete block in the floor, but the demon escorting them in did not move to lock any of them down.

Typhon raised a hand to the audience. "Order in the court," he said, quieting them.

"Off with his head!" Alice said, pointing at the demon who'd brought them in. Some laughed at that. "For breech of personal justice!"

"Alice, the sentences come after the trial, at the end," Kazuya said.

"Aw, okay, I'll wait," she said. "You may go with your head still on, for now. Thank you!"

"Sure," the demon said, trying to play it tough. But he was quick to get out and lock the door behind him. Someone booed at that.

"Well then," Typhon said, looking down at him and acting like the disruption wasn't much, "we shall begin the trial of the demon summoner Kazuya, for breaking the contract of interactions between demons and humans that has existed since time immemorial. And, these demons with you are?"

"They're my legal team for this," Kazuya said.

"Yes, we will be arguing for him. I am Nebiros, necromancer." He bowed politely.

"I'm Belial, a general of Lord Lucifer's army," Belial said, not bothering to bow. He looked Typhon directly in the eyes as if daring him to go through with this.

"And I'm Alice," the girl said, giving a curtsey. "Could we get this trial over with quickly so we can get to executions and tea time?"

"We shall take that into account, Lady Fiend," Typhon said, causing some murmurs in the crowd from those who might not have recognized her for what she was. "You have some powerful demons speaking for you, summoner. But still, it does not change the fact that the demon summoning program you use is a farce that only imitates the true nature of contracts between demons and humans. We should have never agreed to such technology being allowed into the world."

"No, I would disagree," Nebiros said. "The demon summoning program does allow an unprecedented equal field between demon and human in a contract. While I might have scribed different terms of contract by traditional means, accepting the program's version screens out contracts that are poorly balanced in favor of the human, which we have long suffered from. The demon summoning program instead lays out a standard format that cannot be altered by either party."

"Unless you have informal agreements to go along with the formal terms, but that seems to be unique to Alice here so far," Belial said.

"We do not want a standardized version of the contract to exist," Typhon argued. "Each case should be a unique agreement between summoner and demon, to fit the circumstances of the summoning. That will give each side the best of what they want from the contract. With a standardized version of the contract out, the terms will always be the same and what we get out of a contract will be reduced."

Nebiros shook his head. "It's not reduced, I can tell you that. I have been contracted many times in many ways by humans of varying skill levels. While I have only been contracted to Kazuya here for a few days, he is already a superior summoner to most of those I've worked with, perhaps even all. In the past, I had to constantly work to have my summoner in the right mindset to give me the magnetite I required. There is no need for that with the demon summoning program. He's also treated me with respect, so I have no qualms in continuing to work for him even if," he glanced at Alice, "this is not my usual work when I'm in the human world."

"But we have word that he has been using demons in defense of others, which is not in accordance to your usual terms, none of you," Typhon said.

"Does it matter?" Alice said, putting her hands on her hips. "He's my friend and I'm fighting for him, so there."

"Yes, does it really matter what the usual terms would be at this point?" Belial said. "With the world in the state it's in, I'm finding fights everywhere, even if I can skewer most of them without effort. As long as he keeps calling me into battles and the program gives out a fair amount of magnetite, I don't care what those battles are for." He shrugged. "Believe me, I've worked for much less magnetite in the past, sometimes poor enough that it made me ill, just to have a good fight. I hated working out the details of contracts, so having them standardized is great by me."

"And what kind of argument can you put up against that from a general, huh?" Alice said. "If you're still gonna proclaim him guilty, then I'll proclaim you guiltier and execute you!" She pulled out her deck of cards.

"Hold on, let me consider these arguments," Typhon said. Alice glowered at him, but held off. "Those are convincing considering they're from demons of your status. But I have to ask the summoner, what is your intention of coming here?"

"I came to investigate the situation here, then go off to train myself to be stronger," Kazuya said.

Typhon nodded in approval. "In that case, what would you say to performing a request for me? If you are successful, then I will drop all charges against you and allow you to move within this town and other Gaea affiliated locations freely."

"No," Kazuya said. The room became an anxious hush. While the judge stared down at him in shock, he patted the badge on his jacket. "I'm here as the chief of Tokyo's police, putting back together the city as one whole instead of many divided towns. I will assess the situations in each town and help out where I see fit. For the sake of impartiality, I am not taking requests directly from the Mesians or the Gaeans. Or for this court that lobbies for the way demons do things. I won't be doing requests for you."

Typhon put his hand to his curly beard. "Normally I'd throw the book at anybody who supports a law that's not our own in this court, but you're not actually supporting Law either. Very well, I'll drop that for now, even if you would be well rewarded beyond the pardon. And on the word of the demons here, I will let you off as a summoner for now. But know that we will be watching you closely any time you are within our territory."

"That's fine with me," Kazuya said.

"So no executions?" Alice asked, putting her hands behind her back and swaying. "Well as long as we're still going to have tea time, I suppose that will do."

"We might find somewhere here for that, I hope," Kazuya said as the door was unlocked behind them.

* * *

There was one thing that the titan Typhon had made clear: they needed Kazuya to believe in Chaos. Jin didn't want to force beliefs on anybody else, not after so many people had tried that on him. But, this was different. Somehow Kazuya had the potential to change the whole world. Jin couldn't figure out why, but he still believed it. Kazuya was a great guy, always encouraging. He was even inspiring; that might be why, after all. People would want to follow his lead, especially now that he'd made himself an official good cop when people like that had all but disappeared in this time.

It was strange, though. Jin trailed them to the first floor where the main town was, to a tea shop that would satisfy Alice. While he'd thought the shopkeeper was weird for opening a tea shop in these times, it was lucky now that he could catch them there. The stranger thing was that Kazuya was traveling with some incredible demons who were definitely on the side of Chaos. According to some talk during the trial, Nebiros was infamous for assisting madmen like Manu push the limits of humanity and medicine, Belial actually stated up front that he was a general to Lucifer, and Alice… well, Alice inspired a terrified awe in those who knew of her. It was baffling to those like Jin who had no idea why everyone would be scared of a little girl. But she was a fiend and would threaten to execute Typhon in his own court.

When they were getting settled in, Jin slipped up to them. His chest was aching for some reason, but he ignored it. Others would call him a wimp for letting something like that stop him. "Hey, that was impressive how you got out of that one," he said to Kazuya. "You mind if we talk for a bit?"

"Sure, join us if you'd like," Kazuya said.

"Does he have to be here?" Alice asked, glaring at him again. It did give Jin chills, although he resisted showing that.

"I'd like to talk with him," Kazuya said, getting up from the table. "Why don't you get a tea party set up with the others? I'll join you later."

"Okay, but you better not miss out," Alice said, then grabbed Nebiros by the shawl and pointed out things to him.

"So how'd you get them working for you?" Jin asked as they took seats at a neighboring table. His Guillotine Scorpion scuttled closer to be with them.

"Mostly by convincing Alice not to kill me," Kazuya said. "What about your scorpion there? He seems unusual."

"I had a guy who helped me get the first one," Jin said, not wanting to admit that he didn't remember why Louis had agreed to that. "Then my current form lets me call on a new one if I don't have one with me. It's a Guillotine Scorpion, like my axe."

"I see. So what are you doing for Typhon?"

"Just some miscellaneous tasks at the moment," he said. "But I get to meet with one of the higher ups now since I've proven myself to him. If I keep doing that, I can get into the Gaea group near the very top before long."

Kazuya actually smiled at that. "Sounds like normal business progression, but with demons."

"Hey, I'm no lame suit and office junkie," Jin said, although he had to admit it was funny. "What about you? How'd you get your hands on robot cops?"

"They'd taken over the police academy I attended, so I took it back and made them work for me," Kazuya said. "I'd intended on becoming a forensic detective originally, but," he shrugged, "here I am now, the police chief of Tokyo when most of the force is comprised of robots."

Maybe he didn't need to worry about convincing Kazuya too much. That already sounded like a plan this Chaos psychology or philosophy, whatever, something the demons would encourage doing. But that just made him even greater, for being able to think like a fighter of Chaos when he was in a profession that should be strongly Law leaning. "That's cool. You're making your own strength where others think there's nothing; I always liked that about you. You could get a lot done if you worked with the demons and Gaeans, you know. They'd also admire how you rely on yourself most of all."

"I wouldn't say that," Kazuya said. "I'm only strong because of who I associate with, like you, or those at the table there," he gestured to where Yuka and Alice were cheerily talking about something while the two male demons tried to seem like they enjoyed what they tolerated. "I am working on changing that; I've got some folks already who are helping me. And I don't want to decide on an affiliation until I've got the bigger picture clear in my mind."

"So that's how it is?" He shrugged. "I decided to go with Typhon and the demons because their ways suit me more than anyone else. Before, I thought these old gods would be aloof losers, but they're working hard as underdogs too. They encourage you to reach your own strength, just as they are reaching out to regain their true forms. But they're in a position that makes it harder for them to change, which is why they like stuff like fusion for progression and teaching by combat. If we work for them and help them achieve what they lost, then they will free us of the bonds that have been set upon us by the tyrannical God that the Mesian Church follows fanatically. So things that were seen as unacceptable or sins will no longer be an issue. You can be who you truly are among the demons and they'll praise you for it."

"A lot of them seem to treat humans like trash, especially the powerful ones," Kazuya said. "I've met quite a few who honestly want to help humans and live with us. But there are so many others that will attack the powerless out of the thrill of it. Even those with me; I can keep everyone a little safer by keeping them with me."

"They could lead you to great power too," Jin said.

"I'm not after power," he said, shaking his head.

"But then you'd prove your worth to everyone, like I'm doing," he said, finding this strange. And yet, so like him.

"I don't have anyone I need to prove myself to, other than myself," he said, then glanced over at the other table. "I know Yuka will always be with me, as I will always be with her. As long as I have that, I don't want anything more for myself. But for everyone else, there is so much I can do for them. So I'll do what I can for them because it's what I want to do."

"Man, a softhearted attitude like that is going to get you killed in these times," Jin said.

"It hasn't yet," Kazuya said.

"Oh, Kaz, there's something we want to tell you," Yuka said with a big smile.

"Somehow I think this is going to be trouble," he said, putting a hand to his face. He was still smiling.

"Maybe some trouble," Yuka said.

"I wanna go on a trip with Mr. Black and Mr. Red!" Alice said, her eyes bright. "But we'd have to leave you, so we gotta talk about if it's okay."

"Master Jin?" A dwarf came up and tugged at him. "You should come back to Typhon's court, um..."

"Sure, hang on," Jin said, getting up. "Sorry, seems like I need to go see about this."

"No problem," he said, shaking his hand first. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Of course," Jin said, then headed out with the dwarf as Kaz went back to his group. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"We caught the Church's Messiah and brought him to court," the dwarf said. "But, I got a feeling things are going to go very wrong. Nobody else believes me, but I know. We could use your backup there."

The Church's Messiah? This should be challenge, but he looked forward to testing himself. "All right, let's go."

When he entered the court through the prisoner's door, he found a sight that, for the first time as a demon, scared him deeply.


	15. The Deadline

"I haven't been to the Abyss in a loooong time," Alice said, skipping along as they entered the terminal in Ikebukuro. "Everybody kept working to make it better, so maybe it'll be awesome this time."

"It is easy to get lost in," Nebiros said, then coughed. "Lots of ways to go, lots of things to see. We'll have to be careful, you see, to avoid losing each other."

"I really should report in to the castle," Belial said. "Thanks for letting us do this, Kazuya."

"It's fine," he said, activating the terminal. "Since you're going there, could you take one of my other demons along? It's this Joker; he's been affected by glitches from earlier versions of the summoning program and fusion, causing him to mutate at random. We thought the Abyss might be the best place to sort himself out."

"That's interesting," Nebiros said. "We should be able to figure things out there; I have some friends who could help out."

"Sounds like the kind of thing you might have to get Lucifer on," Belial said.

"We'll certainly do that if our methods don't work out," the necromancer said, turning his head with pride.

"I've not accessed the Abyss, so I'm not sure how to get it on the list," Kazuya said, stepping away from the control panel to call out Joker.

"I might be able to work this," Nebiros said, going to it to try some things out.

Joker had the styling of a harlequin, from the oversized three-pointed hat with bells to the curled toe shoes. But the pattern of his cloth was tiny black, white, and gray squares that made him appear like geometric static. "Could you not call me out much?" he asked. "I rather like this form."

"Actually, Nebiros might be able to help you maintain it," Kazuya said.

"I normally work with the dead, but this is too intriguing to pass up," Nebiros said, looking at the terminal. "We just need to be in the Abyss to have better results."

"And we're gonna play fun games and have big adventures all through there!" Alice said, delightedly twirling around.

"Ah, yes, as long as you don't get lost," Nebiros said carefully.

"Right, we'd rather not lose each other," Belial lied blatantly. Alice didn't seem to notice.

"Which means I'm letting the four of you go to return to the Abyss," Kazuya said to Joker.

Joker called out a trick dagger and twirled it in his hands. "Hmm, is that so? I seem to think this has been fun, Kazuya. At least, that would explain why I felt I should follow your wishes. But if you'd like to see me stabilized to stay this way, that's wonderful news to me."

"I'm sorry I can't do anything more for you, other than to wish you luck in keeping this form you like," he said.

Joker smiled at him, then flipped his knife up. He snapped his fingers and caught something different: a small silver apple. "My memories are hazy, yes, but the voices around me say that you are kind to demons who don't harm humans. I know that to be truth, that your wish is authentic. So, here," he tossed the apple over. "Keep it on you and its scent will let lesser demons know that. It won't dissuade all of them, but most, wild ones especially, will be friendlier with you as a result."

"Thank you, Joker," Kazuya said, catching the apple easily.

"Oo, neat trick," Alice said, bouncing over to Joker. "Where'd you get the apple?"

Calling back his dagger, Joker shrugged. "Don't know. I just have this trick that lets me call on some items like that; the silver apple is one of the few benevolent ones."

"They should grow in Binah," Belial said.

"Well, I've found an access channel to Hod, which is rather far from Binah, much less the castle," Nebiros said. "I usually do my work in Netzach myself; should be able to reclaim my old lab as long as crazy old Crowley hasn't taken it over."

"Hod's fine," Belial said, going up the steps to the terminal plate. "And I can kick Crowley out if he gives you trouble. Let's go."

"Oo, are you gonna take me to Binah and the castle, Mr. Red?" Alice said, bouncing back to him.

"Sure, just beware of teleporters on the way," Belial said with a tricky smile.

"Goodbye," Joker said, giving them a bow before going onto the transporter plate as well.

"Oh yeah, bye Kazuya, bye Yuka!" Alice said, giving them a wave as Nebiros was activating the terminal.

"Goodbye," Kazuya said, waving to them. Once they were gone, he smiled in relief. "Well they were helpful, but I'm glad to be free of Alice's demands now."

Yuka chuckled. "She'd be adorable if it were at all possible to teach her why people are afraid of death."

"So how did you con her into this 'trip to the Abyss without us' idea?" he said, putting an arm around her.

"Wasn't that hard," she said, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "I just phrased all we had to do like it'd be one big chore after another, and then encouraged her when she started talking about how fun the Abyss was. She's powerful, yes, but she did want us to die and I'd rather not have our bodies turned to her playthings after that."

"True, though now I have to go on a recruiting spree to make up for them," he said. Then the terminal room lit up briefly again. While he closed his eyes against that, he wondered if it was Alice again. It might just be someone else who could use the terminals, but who? When he could look again, there was a familiar demon there, a white-furred canine with three heads and a serpentine tail. "Huh, Pascal?"

He wagged his tail and came right over. "Kazuya, you're here!"

He dropped down to hug his three-headed dog, getting licked for it. Tears were in his eyes. "Thank goodness, I'm glad to have you back again."

"I waited patiently for a chance to return, and here you are waiting for me," Pascal said happily. "This is the best day."

* * *

This was all going as planned.

Allen had been tied up painfully, with his elbows tied to a rope around his back, which itself was tied to a rod that was pulled into his back if he tried to move his arms too much. He was somewhat lucky they hadn't put a spiked rod there instead. Then they'd put chains on his ankles that forced him into a slow small step. They'd left the robes he'd gotten as the Messiah on him, but it was clear that was because they were white and anything that got thrown at him in these halls would stick out readily. They were out to humiliate him; they even invited people from other towns, if inviting meant kidnapping them and dragging them into the audience just to see him fall.

This was still going as planned.

There was a lot of heckling as he got dragged into the courtroom. There was a small part of him that was uncomfortably reminded of bullies in school and heckling he'd gotten before. But, he couldn't let that hold him back now. This time, he could know with confidence that God was on his side. And God would see him through this. It was all as planned, by God's plan.

Typhon, the father of many monsters, smiled smugly at him from his judging throne. "Well now, look at who else we've dragged in today: the human slave to the tyrannical God who claims to rule over all. Fool, we demons have already overtaken this world and are making it our own. We cannot have a bland little sheep like you bleating out the same tired tunes. We are simply declaring you guilty of trying to steal this world from us when we have rightly taken it back. But if you care to, I will be gracious enough to let you say something for yourself before I put an end to your life."

Typhon then stood up to deafening cheers from the audience. While he wore nothing but a leather belt, his muscles and skin seemed like they would stop normal weapons entirely. He brought out a massive sword that looked more like an oversized meat cleaver than anything else, right down to spatters of blood all over it. With a gesture of his arm, he threw aside the flimsy gate in front of him and walked down to carry out his intended execution.

However, it would be Typhon who was executed here. "You are only imitating the power of God, who can do anything," Allen said.

Typhon narrowed his stormy eyes at him, readying his execution tool. A door opened behind Allen, but it was only faintly on his mind.

Now.

The rope on his left elbow suddenly fell off, letting Allen throw the rod that had been bound to him right into Typhon's body. The chains on his ankles were cut as well, letting him draw the kodachi and make a quick attack at Typhon's sword arm as he reflexively brought it in too late from the rod throw. For a moment, things were in slow motion as the titan tried to slice at his chest; the grit to his expression showed that he wasn't expecting this in the least.

He should have. Allen wouldn't be able to by himself, but he jumped right over the slow swing and slashed quickly at Typhon's face, three times. And with a fourth thrust into his neck, Typhon collapsed to the ground, his heavy sword clashing to the ground. The demon judge faded away into dark ashes as his power struggled to remain. That struggle was in vain as he vanished entirely, leaving an imprint of his fallen body on the floor.

As he landed, Haniel made himself visible to the audience. The whole room, packed with humans and demons, had gone utterly silent at the turn of events they were finding hard to believe. Haniel gestured to him. "All ye disbelievers in this room, this is the power of faith, the devotion of those who believe. If you cannot match this, I would suggest reexamining the state of your soul."

"My god, you killed Typhon," Jin said, behind him.

He was here, then. Allen turned around and nearly didn't recognize him, not without his glasses or that weird longcoat. From the looks of him, he must have gotten his wish and was turned into a demon. A giant scorpion at his side hissed with its head held low, seeming ready to attack.

"We couldn't let his perverse form of justice stand," Allen said.

Haniel put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, but we have business elsewhere. This demon only has a week left to live, so there is no reason to bother with him."

Only a week? Allen hadn't liked Jin, but this didn't sit well with him. He'd wanted to have faith in Kazuya's belief that Jin could be a good person if he changed his ways. "Really?"

"You're just trying to scare me," Jin snapped, drawing out his black axe while the scorpion waved its axe-headed tail. "That can't be true!"

"It is because your body cannot maintain stability from the vain fusion you performed on yourself," Haniel said. "Once that armor cracks, your time left could be measured in hours. Leave him, his own folly will do him in."

Was that really all that could be done? Allen had a feeling that the miracles he had been granted would fail for Jin. "I'm sorry, Jin, I really wanted to save you too," Allen said, putting a hand to his chest. "I felt like you could become a better person if you just let yourself."

"I don't believe either of you!" Jin screamed, then rushed at them.

If it wasn't for Haniel's quickness in teleporting them out of there, it might have been the end of them.

* * *

On the day Kazuya was to meet up with Masakado, the Cathedral appeared in the bay in its full glory. Yuka had called him out to the roof as the sun was rising to see. Even from where they were, the massive structure could be seen out over the water. With some binoculars, the white walls and golden tiles could be seen clearly. On the very top, a huge golden cross surrounded by a sunburst stretched its shadow clear across the city with the first appearance of the daylight.

"That is unreal," Kazuya said. "How long have they been working on that? Even with lots of workers, that kind of structure is really complex even on land."

"Twenty years, at least," Yuka said. "Of course, it may have been a pipe dream from before the cataclysm too."

"It'll certainly sway people to their cause," he said. Pascal nudged him with one of his heads so Kazuya pet him. "Actually, Allen's been doing really well with convincing people to join the Mesians. Jin's barely talked about, but everyone seems to know who Allen is now, even if only as the Messiah."

"I'm not surprised," she said. "Put in the right light, the teachings of Mesia are of great comfort to those who feel lost. And with everything humans have against them here, that's something they want deeply. Allen truly believes; even skeptics wouldn't doubt that. Now that he can produce miracles, people are going to flock to him."

"If more of them were like him, I might seriously consider going with them," Kazuya said. "But a lot of the higher ups are turning out to be the fire and brimstone sort who are quick to condemn others. That lecture we listened to the other day seemed designed to make listeners feel horrible about themselves."

"So you'd follow Allen's Mesia, but not standard Mesia," she said, jostling him with her elbow.

"Sure," Kazuya said, putting an arm around her. "If we told him how they dropped honoring you as a prophet after he showed up, then he'd go rebuke them. Maybe, he's still finding his confidence."

"He seems pretty confidant as the Messiah, but I can see how that's a role for him," Yuka said, leaning into him. "But now that the Cathedral's here, they're going to be rushing him into summoning God."

"That doesn't sound like something that should be rushed," Kazuya said. "Do you know what that entails?"

She shrugged. "It could be all kinds of things. I suspect they'll sequester him up in the highest tower there, under the big sunburst, and just have him praying for days on end. But they'll also want to make a huge ceremony of it, so they could be doing all kinds of things around the city." After a moment of quiet, she added, "So how are we going to go about finding Masakado?"

"Can't I just cuddle here with you for the sunrise at least?" he teased her, then kissed her. "I'm not sure, but I think Yagatarasu will show up eventually."

"In that case, I suppose staying together up here will let the crow find us faster," she said. He laughed, knowing it was an excuse, but it was one he didn't mind acting on.

Fortunately, Yagatarasu came at an opportune time, when the morning sun was shining strongly across the golden roofs of the cathedral. Kazuya had to get his earpiece out to talk with the crow. "Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," Yagatarasu said. "You have performed admirably. I am to lead you to the place of your final training. With this, you should be capable of passing the tests that will quickly arrive, within that shining place down the river."

"Thank you, where do we start?" he said, getting up with Yuka.

"Here will be fine," the crow said. "Come down to ground level and we'll begin."

They went down to where the old shrine that Nan had taken care of was. It was gone now, as was the path to the shrine past it. However, Yagatarasu was able to open up that path once again. It looked just as he remembered it, even down to the neatly trimmed hedges. And once they were inside, Yagatarasu changed. He was no longer a three-legged crow, but a familiar old monk.

"Wait, you were the old man who gave me the golden apples?" Kazuya asked, not expecting this.

He nodded. "I am. As I told you then, you were already being noticed and a difficult path lay before you. I took the opportunity to make sure you had a loving companion with you through this all. Even in ordinary circumstances, the paths of Life are best taken with love, not solitude."

"That's true," Kazuya said. "Thank you for that; I don't know how I'd be doing this without her."

"Yes, many things were made better because I could look forward to being with him again," Yuka said.

On the path there, they came across the calico nekomata. Her tail split had shifted further down, although the two ends still moved in sync. "Oh, hello Kazuya and Pascal," she said, coming over to rub at his ankle. "It's been a long time."

"It has, hello again," Pascal said, sniffing her in a friendly way.

"Not so much for me," he said, stopping to pet her for a moment. "Are you taking care of this shrine now?"

"Yes, there's not much a guardian cat can do against a nuclear strike," Nan said, her ears briefly shifting in regret. "But this old man got me here in time and set me a new duty for this shrine. Perhaps when you humans get around to rebuilding shrines, I can find another out in the human realm to take care of. This will do for now."

"I'm glad you're all right," he said. She flicked her tails and walked off, but he was pretty sure she was happy to see him too.

He hadn't gone far into the shrine before; this time, Yagatarasu led him to the central room. Instead of an interior space, it led to a large stone garden. In the center of it, there was a regal man with a red scarf around his neck. Kazuya felt the calming music that he'd always associated with this shrine grow as he came closer to him. Someone else might mistake him for a powerful but otherwise normal human, but he could feel a presence that Masakado bore. While he was clearly a deity, Kazuya felt sure that Masakado was on humanity's side in all this.

"Welcome, Kazuya," he said, opening his eyes as they came up onto the platform Masakado was using for meditation. "I've been watching the people of Tokyo for one like you. I do what I can as the city's guardian deity, but oftentimes, the city also needs a human guardian to guide others. You stood out to me when you chose to organize the mechanical beasts into defenders of mankind, not potential threats. Your decisions in the past few days have confirmed my assessment that you should be this generation's guardian."

That was what this was about? He'd suspected something like that, which made him glad. He bowed to Masakado. "I'm honored that you would choose me for such a role. I'll accept it gladly."

Masakado nodded. "Good, I knew that you would decide quickly. Still, there is not much time left. The appearance of the Cathedral is an ill omen for much of humanity. In three days, God will bring disaster to Tokyo again in the name of wiping out what's left and starting all over again fresh."

"That soon?" he asked, his heart beating nervously. "What can be done in that time?"

"The Mesian Church plans on bringing its new converts into the Cathedral to protect them from the coming disaster," he said. "But they too are feeling the pressure of time. Their young Messiah has already converted a great number to their flock, so many will be traveling to the Cathedral. You should find it relatively easy to slip nonbelievers who would otherwise be left to die in with their numbers. Their proof is based upon a question of faith, not a sign. To that end, you should advise people to head to the Cathedral regardless of their belief."

"That building should be large enough to take in a vast number of people, believers or not," Kazuya said. "All right. Many of them know of me now and it shouldn't be hard to convince them."

"Especially since the Church will be preaching disaster in the meanwhile," Yuka said.

"Good, but there's one more lesson for you to have the mastery of skill you will require," Masakado said. "When you complete that, I will give you a proper weapon, not that practice sword."

"Thank you," he said, then checked to make sure Yuka and Yagatarasu weren't in range. He also spotted Nan perched on one of the larger stones, observing them too. "I'm ready to begin your lesson."

* * *

Destiny Land… it used to be some strange living dream, like a child's imagination toppled over and scattered about the playroom. Now people said that it was a place to find your true destiny. Jin hadn't been all that interested in it before. But now that he knew he has so little time left… no, that couldn't be true. The angel was just trying to confuse him because of what he was. They couldn't know anything. However, the goddess who dwelt here would know, and she might even know a way out of it.

She had to. He refused to believe he was going to die so soon.

"You have terrible luck," a disconcertingly cheerful voice said over the speaker.

"Fuck off," Jin grumbled.

"How unfortunate for you! Try another way." It teleported him again before he could get out of the way.

"I'd like to choke whoever recorded those messages," Jin grumbled.

"Are you having a rough time with these halls?" a woman asked from a nearby hall. She had an incredible voice, the one that didn't need to say enticing things to be enticing.

He looked over and saw that her body was exactly matched to her voice. "Yeah, this place was designed by a sadist," Jin said.

"It really seems that way, given the horrible color design everywhere," she said, strolling over to him. "Anytime I try to get anywhere normally, it always thinks I have terrible luck."

"Well someone like you shouldn't need luck," he said, although he felt he was failing to be as suave as he wanted to be.

She still smiled at him. "Normally not. And, there's a secret to this place. You don't actually need to go through all these messed up halls. When you do get lost, there is usually an easy way to get around in spite of it."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm Jin, and I was told by Typhon that I could find his wife Echidna around here." He brought out the medal that proved he was under Typhon's command. At least, if he wasn't dead.

"Really? That's impressive, don't often meet guys who have authentic proof from Typhon." She waved him into her little hall. "Then, come this way. I'm Rie; I do work for Echidna around here, so I know how to get around quickly. It's actually quite silly since the back way is so straightforward."

In fact, it was a series of maintenance halls that connected to stairwells in the corners. It was hardly a pretty place, but give how gaudy the rest of this building was, Jin found it a relief to have gray concrete and black metal to look over instead. At the top level, Rie led him to a massive room that could serve as an airplane hanger.

Instead of airplanes, this room held a massive beast that could have eaten those planes. Two lengthy snakes seemed to be intertwined down there, but they met into one torso, that of a giant woman with fangs and pointed ears. She shook her dark blue hair and looked them over. "Ah, Rie, who have you brought to me now?"

"This is Jin, one of Typhon's men," she said, stepping aside for him.

"Yes, he told me I should meet with you," he said, showing the medal he had. "However, he was killed by the Church's Messiah yesterday."

She put her head closer to them. "Really? That is worrying. We did not suspect that the Messiah they were predicting would be that powerful."

"Neither did I," Jin said. "I traveled with him before and he always seemed like a bleeding-heart wimp who needed protecting. Even when he got a decent weapon, he wasn't near as good as I was offensively in battle."

"Is that so? Then that, and the fact that you have Typhon's medal, shows that you are the one meant to fight him for us old gods."

"I am?" he said. "I mean, I won't say no to that. But, uh," no, he didn't want to appear weak or nervous in front of her. She was the mother of dozens of monsters that had tested mankind over eons. Maybe hundreds, or even more. "They may have only meant to confuse me, but the angel hanging around the Messiah said that I had a week at most to live. Is that true?"

"Hmm, let's see." Echidna brought her head even closer and sniffed him. The huge beads on her braids jangled as they hit each other. Once she was satisfied, she backed off. "They were right. Death is breathing down your neck."

No… no, he couldn't… the power that he'd pursued so far would not be enough to stop this. Jin gripped his fists, trying to keep strong. "Is there anything I can do about that? Anything at all?"

She tilted her head. "By my judgment, the only thing you can do is make the most of what little time you have left. Give everything you've got to bring down that Messiah before he brings God down here in person to take everything away from us again." Frowning, she said, "Zeus degraded my husband and I, and then that Hebrew God went and degraded us all even further. My brood and I will do everything we can to stop Him from reclaiming the world, but it is a daunting task for us."

There was no way to save himself? He wanted to scream and deny it all, or take everyone else down with him. There was no way he should be dying so soon! He, he'd never get to be eighteen or make all that he'd wanted to do with this power happen. But Jin realized with a terrible despair that no amount of pleading, screaming, or violence would change his fate. He really just had to make the most of what time he had.

"How am I supposed to overcome this Messiah?" Jin asked, his voice trembling even as he tried to be stoic about it. Kazuya wouldn't let this fear show, even if it was him who knew his own death sentence. "He utterly destroyed Typhon. I'm not afraid of the guards always around him, not even the angels of them. But he has incredible power now."

"You have incredible power as well," Echidna said. "If you can get him without his angel guard, you should be entirely capable of taking him down. And since you have so little life left, you should not be afraid to throw away everything when you finally get to face him. Take him down with your last actions, fight him to your last breath. When you muster that kind of determination, he will not be able to overcome you."

Make sure to destroy Allen even if the effort destroyed him. Well, if he was going to die anyhow, he may as well make something magnificent out of it. "All right, I'll do it."

"Good. Even now, we are carrying out the early stages of an invasion of the Cathedral they're so proud of. Take Rie with you as your partner from now on; she is far more capable than she appears to be."

"You honor me, Lady Echidna," Rie said, coming over and putting a hand on Jin's shoulder.

And he'd get this gorgeous woman at his side? That might make things better. "Thank you."

Echidna nodded. "Once you get inside, you will likely meet with the four leaders of our invasion force. I have my own duties to carry out here. But those leaders will help you by distracting the powerful angels that God is sure to have stationed inside to watch over His Messiah. You will then be given the chance to find the glory that will turn you into an eternal legend."

"I won't fail you," Jin said. He then got instructions on how to join the invasion force; he'd need to go by the Gaean temple to become an official member, but Echidna was able to send word ahead so it could be handled quickly.

With that taken care of, he left Echidna's room and went with Rie back to the ground floor. He tried to focus on this invasion mission, to go and kill Allen. But it wasn't long before his thoughts got lost again about his impending death. Haniel had said it would be when his armor cracked, shortly afterward. His armor was still whole, for now. But, only a week, no, less than that since a day had already passed. He hadn't thought about dying before, other than boasting that it didn't scare him. Now that it was hanging right there, breathing down his neck as she had said, it terrified him. Was there anything he could do to escape this?

"We don't have to hurry to Ueno," Rie said. "They'll need some time to prepare for your initiation. Anything you want to do?"

"I can't think of anything," he said. But there should be something, something he should get in with his limited time. There were lots of things he'd dreamed of doing. Was any of it still possible in just one week?

"Anything you want to tell me?" she said, putting her arm around him before they left the stairwell. "If she says I am to be your partner, I'm really happy with that, to be with our champion when he will become a legend. I'll do anything for you."

Maybe… he didn't have a lot of time left. "But if I tell anything, you might let it slip after my death," Jin said.

She shook her head. "No, I promise. If you tell anything to me that you don't want known, I won't let it be known. As your partner, your secrets will stay with me. I promise."

"Well, I'm mostly scared of dying still," he said quietly, feeling like she'd keep that promise. "Lady Echidna made a good point, I should throw what I've got into taking out Allen. I'd like to do that. But, this is too much, I didn't think I'd be dying so soon."

"You won't die," she said, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. "Legends never die. Tales of your deeds will live on forever."

Tales weren't his life. Jin closed his eyes, still self-conscious about being caught crying even with a promise of lifelong secrecy. Rie drew closer; she was able to distract him from all that for a little while.

But that still didn't change what was waiting for him, just around the corner.

* * *

"How did you make such a huge building appear from nowhere?" a girl his age asked.

"By the power of God," Allen said. Although to be honest, he wasn't sure. He knew it had been built somewhere else because he'd appeared there on returning to life. "We're all going there to pray for His return to Earth. And when He descends to be with us, the Earth will be remade, more beautiful than before."

"But what will happen to everyone outside the Cathedral when that happens?" she asked.

He couldn't answer that one. Not even the light within could help. Although, one of his guards had an answer. "The sinful ones will be destroyed in the process so that their taint is gone from the world."

"But that..." Allen started to protest. The guard gave him a rebuking look; right, he was supposed to be the Messiah carrying out God's plan. But, was he really if he wasn't sure of things and didn't know if parts were right? But, it all had to make sense to God. "We'll save all that we can, but the hardhearted who refused to change," his throat tensed, "I hope they do change."

It was really hard to get back into his speaking and conversions after that. He tried to keep calm; he had to be the brave one who brought people back to where they belonged. But no matter what he should be, this town was a tough crowd. There were people openly associated with the Gaeans among his listeners. While they weren't causing trouble yet, his guards were keeping close to him.

"Where was your God when the whole world went mad and everything got wiped away with nukes?" a woman asked him suddenly, angrily. "Why does He wait until now to do anything for us?! Is all that your God's plan? He just wants to divide everyone into His willing sheep and the outcasts He'll just burn to nothing no matter what they did!"

He couldn't answer that. But he wanted to be able to. "That wasn't God," he said, which he believed. "There were so many wicked people in the world, a-and their plans all created such massive tragedy..." Not now, he had to be strong for God. Had to… but he was weak and started crying. "It shouldn't have happened that way, everything lost. I saw those days. The darkness and madness I saw in people wasn't right. I prayed the whole time for God's light and love to return, even as my soul was drifting..."

The woman who'd thrown those hard questions at him was taken aback by his answer and his tears. "Oh, ah, you, you're not like the rest."

One of his guards put a hand on his shoulder while another said, "We should withdraw for now, but please, give your futures some serious thought." The guards then pulled him aside; someone among the locals was generous enough to direct them to an empty room.

"I'm sorry," Allen said, trying to get a hold of himself.

"You're doing fine," one of the guards said to him, guiding him to sit in a couch there. "Their faith will grow seeing your sincerity; God must be pleased."

He shook his head. Why had he been called? The guards tried to comfort him, but their words just reminded him of the woman's accusations, the girl's questions. A real Messiah would have known what to say and do; he would have been strong enough to take the anger and gently respond. Allen was being sincere, teaching them what he knew. But, he was realizing that he didn't really know all that much.

The door opened so one of the guards could tell them, "There's a couple who wants to see you, Kazuya and Yuka."

They were here? Had they seen that? "Let them in," Allen said.

"They aren't a part of the church, not that I can tell," the guard said, unsure of this.

"Their souls are special to God," he said, a bit angrily. "And me. Please, let them in and leave us alone."

Either that was enough to convince the guards or they saw that they weren't talking him out of this. His friends were quick to sit down with him. "What's the matter?" Yuka asked.

She'd been a prophet, so she could understand. "I can't do this," Allen said, shaking. But he didn't stop himself this time, not with them. "But the whole reason I was given this second, no, third chance at life is to be the Messiah. I can't do it, though. I should be able to stand up to those accusations; I should know what to tell people. But I don't. I'm only fifteen, I don't know anything about what some of these people are asking me, but they're looking to me for answers I can't give them."

"You're just fifteen?" Kazuya said, more worried about him. Allen nodded. "I'm sorry, I thought you were older than that. It is a lot they are putting on you, for anybody."

"The guards are helping out, but they say things I wouldn't," he said. "I want to help. But then, they're pulling me all over Tokyo to speak to people, hurrying me up according to some schedule they won't share. I'm not even sure where we are now, just that it's one of the contested towns and that makes everything harder when I have to face skeptics. Sometimes I can handle it, but I couldn't stop myself there."

Yuka put an arm around him, while Kazuya stayed on his other side. "You are doing a good job, though," he said. "I've been watching over how the city is doing and the Mesians are now the largest faction by far, all due to what you've done the past few days. There's even been talk about how a lot of people would love to hear from you again, but they don't want to listen to the sermons of other Mesians."

"That's good, but when are they going to realize that I can't live up to their expectations?" he said.

"It's fine, you can do this," Yuka told him. "It'll be rough, I know. Some of the days they were relying on me were just awful and I wanted to run. And I did a few times, but I always came back because of God's teachings to help others. I loved reading some of the old scriptures about God being loving and forgiving, because it made me feel like I could be accepted no matter how much I messed up."

"That's what I most believe in too," Allen said, bowing his head. "It's what I want to teach the people. But the priests and guards keep saying other things and making me wonder if I'm wrong somehow."

"Or if they're believing in an entirely different God, that's how it felt to me," Yuka said.

And… entirely different God? "But there's only one true God, and He..." who was right though? He and Yuka, or the priests? It should be the priests because they were older and more learned, but the old version was a comforting light… in contrast to the bright blinding light of the new. Allen buried his face in his hands. "Oh my god, what if you're right? Just who am I serving?"

"I'm sorry Allen, I didn't mean to upset you," Yuka said, hugging him tighter.

After a moment of silence, Kazuya took one of his hands and pulled it away. "Allen, what God do you want to serve?" he asked. His voice was gentle but firm, like the father Allen had always wanted. His foster father had been so strict, cold with his affections.

The question was simple enough to answer once it was put to him. "The forgiving God who is in the old scriptures, with the original Messiah," he said.

"Then you do that," Kazuya said. "Teach the people about that God. I'm sure He must be out there watching over you. But if it turns out that the one who has been instructing you is not that God, you just come straight to me. I'll protect you as best I can, I swear it."

"Thank you, Kazuya," Allen said, smiling and feeling like some of the burden he had was gone. He still wasn't sure who he was serving. But Kazuya was right; he should teach about the God he believed in as the one true God.

"There's also something I feel you should know, as the Church's Messiah," he said.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuka asked. "He's already shouldering a lot of responsibility."

"It's only right that he knows, if they haven't told him already," Kazuya said. He patted Allen's back. "There is a deadline. Some time tomorrow, we think at dawn but it may take time, something is going to happen. It's going to be disastrous again and the Cathedral is the only guaranteed place of safety we have."

"That soon?" He put both of his hands in his lap. He still hadn't called on Vishnu because they hadn't brought him around to doing that. But if that was so, that might happen soon.

He nodded. "And there is something we really shouldn't be telling you, but I know that we can trust you," he said in a low voice. "I have been working with Masakado and in the past few days, we have been sending people to the cathedral regardless of their beliefs. We want to save the lives of as many people as possible and that's our best option. I'm sorry, but there is really so little time that there is nothing else we can be sure of to make sure they don't die needlessly."

That Cathedral was meant to house the believers of God. But… Allen nodded. "All right, I won't speak of about that unless others discover it, and then only to defend those people. I promise you that. It's large enough to take in thousands and still be self-sufficient. My God would want that, I'm sure." He rubbed his head. "And, um, I'm supposed to be calling on Vishnu… I don't want to say too much, but, for those who must be helping you, you may have to fight him."

"That's fine, I can handle a challenge like that," Kazuya said. He was so confidant.

And Allen could rely on him. "I'm sure. I'm feeling better now, thanks, both of you. I think I should focus on what I can do, rather than what I think a Messiah should be capable of." Something else occurred to him. "Oh, but have you spoken to Jin recently?"

"We spoke to him in Ikebukuro after Typhon tried us, but then he got called back into the court on some emergency," he said. "We haven't seen him in the time since. I worry about both of you."

"I'm actually worried about him too, although I can't tell any of those around me about that," Allen said. He took a deep breath; he needed to stay composed, because they'd expect him to be like that once they moved on. "He's going to die soon."

"What?" Kazuya said, alarmed at that.

Allen nodded. "Haniel said he has a week at most, but if his armor cracks, then he might not have a day left. It was that demon fusion, his body's not stable. But, I can't blame him for that anymore, at least not without feeling guilty about it. He hasn't been put on the pedestal that I'm on, but I get the feeling that the Gaeans and the demons with them are pressuring him just as much. It's just this feeling I have, that if fate drew all of us together, he too must have some role in all this. I can't imagine that he could easily accept that death."

"No, he'd be full of dread at it even if he tried acting tough," he said. "We'll see if we can't find him, thanks for letting us know."

"I know you can help him too," Allen said.

When he got back out of the room to meet with his guards, he watched the two of them hurrying off to a terminal. Allen had been ordered to convert them fully to the Mesian Church, but it felt like they had converted him instead. "Are you ready to move on now?" one of the guards said.

"Yes… wait." He turned and was the first to notice the angel manifesting there. "Haniel, what is it?"

"Have you converted the fulcrum yet?" Haniel asked. The guards didn't know what he was talking about.

A response came to him easily this time. "That has yet to be seen, unfortunately," Allen said. "We talked about several serious matters just now. Yet, he remains seemingly neutral in his dealings still. It may not be until the last moments that we know for sure what his loyalties are."

"That is unfortunate, but it seems you have done what you can," Haniel said, neither pleased nor displeased with this. "Time is running short. You must call upon Vishnu now and then head straight for the Cathedral to begin your preparations for summoning God."

"As God wishes," Allen said.

For what questions he had left, he needed some way to get them answered soon.


	16. The Second Great Flood

The burning candles filled his lungs with their smoke. At the start of this, it had been a pleasant scent. But with all the chanting, the bells, the heavy rain outside, the disorientation of having himself blindfolded and led all over the place until coming in here, now that scent was crushing, oppressing his lungs with their smell. Jin tried to tough it out as long as he could, but there was a twitch somewhere inside and he fell into a fit of coughing. What was that? Was it a sign of the end?

Not now, no, he hadn't even gotten through this.

With one last clang of the bells, the blindfold got ripped off his face. He found himself kneeling in a dark room, those candles painfully bright little spots of light to his suddenly open eyes. A number of the Gaean monks were around him for this initiation. There was also a strange demon along, a naked man mounted on a flying snake, or perhaps that snake was a part of him. One of the humans, dressed in black and gold, came forward and offered him a black emblem with a gold pentagram. "Welcome to the mysteries of the Gaean inner circle," he said. "With study and meditation, the secrets of the universe will open up to you."

There was something he hadn't mentioned to them so far, but it felt important. "I don't have time for that," he said, his lungs already worn out from the smoke. "My days are severely numbered. All I can do," he was forced to stop and cough, then try to get his voice back without breathing in too much, "is one final act to ensure that the Mesian's God does not descend now."

"Unfortunately, he is right," the demon said, coming in closer. He offered a hand down to Jin. "Are you willing to make that the goal of your final hour?"

The air was burning; his head was fuzzy. For lack of any words right then, he clasped the demon's hands in both of his and brought them to his forehead in a reverential bow before allowing himself to get back on his feet.

"You'll have to keep out of most of the invasion in order to reserve your strength for fighting the Messiah," the demon said. "But in recognition of your selflessness, we will do all we can to ensure you get there."

"Yes, we promise to as well," the Gaean monk leading the initiation said.

Leaving the room was a haze, but at least it got him out of that smoke. Rie was quick to greet him, kissing him on the cheek of his armor and taking his hand. It was clear that she'd give him much more if he wanted, but the ceremony had wiped him out. As much as he didn't want to die, it felt like he was already dying.

The temple was bustling with activity. They had their road into the Cathedral's lower levels, a worker's ferry that had been left unlocked on what was left of the docks. While it would be slow to ferry everyone over in batches, they were able to use it to get a few hackers over to get the authorization codes for the terminals. With that, getting inside was the easy part. The Mesians would be busy at the bridges, counting their flock and guiding them to where they would be staying. Jin would have liked to help with the invasion, but his whole body ached and he had to be reserved for his final task.

Final…

He dropped down on the ground in one of the outer halls, sitting against the wall where there wasn't as much noise or bustle. Jin wanted to go find somewhere to take a nap, but he was disoriented still. Not questioning it, Rie sat by him and snuggled close. "You sure you don't want somewhere more private?" she asked flirtatiously.

Jin shook his head, not feeling up to it. He pulled his knees up into his arms and put his head there. Why? The question wouldn't leave his mind no matter how he tried to get around it. It was clear that it had been a mistake to go through with the fusion now. Which meant, it was his own fault for being so stubborn about it and not listening to his friends. His… friends… even Allen? He was a fool for sticking with the Mesian Church. And yet, he had been authentically concerned on hearing about this death. Yeah, Allen was stupidly naively honest, but he was honest and couldn't hide his feelings at all.

"If you're going to be a pillbug, I can't stroke you," Rie said, still teasing him.

"Stop it," he said hoarsely, brushing her away with his hand.

"Aw, please?" she asked, leaning on him. "Don't you want to get the most out of your time?"

"I said no," Jin said, feeling a streak of extra pain because he'd nearly yelled at her. "Goddamn… you're too much."

"Hmph, one would think a girl like me would be any man's fantasy," she asked. "But someone's coming; you win for the moment." She stopped leaning on him, which did help.

"Jin," Kazuya said, coming over with hurried steps.

He brought his head up suddenly, too quickly. It was him, and Yuka, and a familiar looking demon. "Kaz… Yuka… what're you doing here? You could," his lungs twitched and he coughed. "Sorry. You'll get in trouble."

"We can handle what trouble comes," Yuka said. "But Allen said that you were dying, so we had to come find you right away."

"He told you that?" Jin asked, more embarrassed than angry. Nearby, his Guillotine Scorpion hissed softly at Cerberus; the three-headed beast was considering the scorpion warily "I'm... I'm fine. Just, they had so many candles. Didn't know breathing in a nice scent like that could hurt so much." He reached over and tugged his demon aside. "Chill, they're good people."

"He still worries about you, despite how much you two have argued in the past," Kazuya said, waving to Cerberus and getting immediate obedience in not triggering a fight. Guillotine Scorpion gazed hard at them a moment longer before moving closer to Jin's side. "And I'm worried for both of you getting in over your heads. What are you doing here?"

"We're gonna go take that damn cathedral down," Jin said. "We," right, they hadn't met yet, "well this is my new partner, Rie, and the two of us will be helping by..." but should he say that? Kazuya would not like what he had been asked to do.

"You don't have to tell us now if you don't want to, but please don't act rashly, even with your situation," Kazuya said. "I wish I could have done more for you; I feel like I haven't done enough."

Jin felt like he should be mad about the patronizing, but he was just embarrassed. "Don't fret so much over me, geez. I want to do one great thing with my life and they're giving me a chance at that. I'll be fine."

"You sure about that?" When he nodded, Kazuya put a hand on his knee. "All right, but know that I'll help you if you need it. Just find me. As you're intent on making a last stand, make sure that it counts."

"Yeah, got it," he said. Although, he doubted that Kazuya would actually help him kill Allen. It was still reassuring to know Kazuya had his back. He really was someone to count on.

Kazuya smiled at him. "Good. You want to talk about anything now?"

"Nah, don't you have better things to be doing?" Jin said. "And I'm not kidding about you getting in trouble, these guys are suspicious of your motives in lending the robots to everyone. They'd raise hell if they found you here in their temple."

"We can still teleport out if we have to," Yuka said.

"Right, but we should get to warning the last towns," Kazuya said. "It's going to be a long night. Jin..." he didn't seem sure of what to say for a moment, "I'll always consider you a good friend, like a little brother."

"Hey, don't go making me weepy," Jin said. "But, thanks, big brother. If I'd met you earlier, maybe things would be different. But we have to work with how things are now. You two take care of each other, all right?"

"Sure, you too," Kazuya said. "I hope we get to see you again."

As they left, Jin felt a feeling like peace. Maybe he only had one last act in him, but it felt like… should he really do it? Allen, he was worried. Kazuya wouldn't lie about that. At least the fear in him was subsiding. There was still some time, time to consider what to do.

"Hmph, did he really not recognize me?" Rie asked, for some reason sounding mad.

"Rie?" He watched as she stood up.

She didn't look back. "What is it going to take to change his mind?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

She grunted. "It doesn't matter; you wouldn't understand. You couldn't even make him jealous, he just completely ignored me over you. This was all a waste of time; maybe I should wait for his next incarnation again." And then she walked off in the opposite direction Kazuya and Yuka had gone.

"Wait, Rie!" He tried to get up to follow her, but got dizzy when he stood up. Jin put his hands against the wall to steady himself and then she as gone. She didn't come back. "Just… who else is using me?"

He slumped back down and curled back up until Ashtoreth came looking for him. At least he could still rely on Kazuya and Yuka, if it came down to it. And his scorpion; the demon wouldn't get what was going on, but it stayed by his side. It even started brushing up his armor plates instead of its own, taking care of him as best it knew how.

Maybe he could rely on Allen too?

* * *

When the city woke up the next morning, the rain had grown heavier.

There was still a crowd at the bridge across to the cathedral. The lights here had been designed to cut down on light pollution, leaving the vast heights of the building obscured in darkness until lightning briefly lit the golden spires. In the cold biting rain, people felt nervous. The priests called out more members to keep everyone calm, sending them inside in an orderly fashion. "Do you believe in God?" the priest at the end of the bridge asked. Laps of rising water could be heard through the thick rain.

"Yes," the woman there said. She offered no crucifix nor said anything more, just tugged at her child's hand.

"Yes," the child echoed, keeping close out of fear.

"Go on," the priest said, then asked the same of the next. There was no time to verify; they couldn't leave any believers behind.

Far below, in the floors surrounded by the bay's waters, Jin was lying on a couch. He'd been trying to sleep all night, but hadn't managed it yet. If it wasn't his mind racing in trying to sort everything out, it was his body with pains that took up his whole awareness. He'd made some plans, but was still trying to figure out what else might happen and what he could do. But more than that, he'd done some serious thinking. About what he'd done, what he'd become… and that left him with new questions and no more time to answer them.

A demon came by and nudged him, one of the four big generals for this invasion force. "Come on, it's time for your part."

Then, he was already dead, just waiting for that final moment. He opened his eyes and sat up. When Ashtoreth gave him a questioning look, Jin nodded.

"Good. We already hold half of this cathedral, the basements. We're in the eighth one now, and your target is up at the peak on the eighth floor above the waters. But we've decided, we'd rather just take over the whole place and transform it into the greatest temple ever seen. We'll exclude that jealous monster and let all the other gods rule here fairly." He chuckled. "But they'll have to recognize that those of us who actually participated would be more fair than the rest."

Jin wondered if he could really throw away his last act of life like this.

Far above, Haniel paced and watched over Allen as he knelt in the center of a large circular platform jutting out far into the air from the central tower. Allen hadn't slept either; he was fighting weariness to keep going. After summoning Vishnu, he'd been given a ritual cleansing, then brought out here to pray for God's return into the world. When the thunder quieted, he could just about hear the turbulent waters far below him. Much louder were the turbulent waters falling all around, trying to crush him down.

"Haniel," Allen said, putting his hands together so he could slip them into the long sleeves. It was nearly freezing out here. "God promised that he wouldn't flood the world again."

"Things were meant to continue improving in humanity," Haniel said. "You trust God's word and wisdom?"

Allen closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"Allen?"

"I trust God," he said briefly looking upwards and the giant golden cross. Lightning fired up, making it flash starkly across the rumbling clouds. Allen returned his focus inward and prayed.

Fights broke out throughout the Cathedral's vast halls. The demons struck upwards, seeking to clear a path for their hero. The angels spread out, seeking to defend the highest tower for their hero. Down on the ground floor, the humans taking refuge gathered together and tried to encourage each other. It wasn't clear what was going to happen.

And out in the city… out in the empty ruins that the humans had abandoned, the water stretched over the land, growing deeper by the minute.

Two figures held hands, running towards a rogue set of lights in the darkness. A black crow flew with them, untroubled by the rain. There was one last thing to take care of in the city.

* * *

In a place central to the city, specifically central to the shrines of the four heavenly kings, Vishnu had set up a ring of tall torches. Their fires crackled and hissed in the rain, but did not go out. The four armed god was dancing in the center of them, weaving a lengthy counter to the shield of the Japanese gods. But every time the counter slipped out of the ring of torches, it was shredded by the many-faced god Revana. When the counter was short again, Revana paced around the outside, looking for some crack to break open. Vishnu kept dancing, not heeding what his enemy was doing.

"Revana first?" Yuka whispered as they slowed.

"I would have rather done in Vishnu first since he's the one attacking the kings' shield over Japan," Kazuya said. "Since it's like this, yeah, we have to take out Revana first." He held a hand out for Yagatarasu to land on briefly. "Can you disrupt the counter spell when we distract Revana?"

"Yes, but he might not ignore me," the crow said. "I don't mind the risk."

"Thank you," Kazuya said, not sure how long Vishnu would need to break the shield without Revana disrupting him. He let go of Yuka's hand to make it easier on both of them to fight, then approached Revana. "We're here to stop you," Kazuya told him.

"Hmph, so you've taken the coward's way and sided with the mad Creator?" Revana asked with at least four faces, turning his attention and many eyes to them. "Not that it will end up mattering, since I can crush you both like flies easily."

"Not as easily as you think, Yuka said. Revana leapt over to pummel her with several fists; Kazuya got in the way and deflected his blows, cutting across nearly every knuckle.

The way Revana made the movements of his limbs and faces flow smoothly despite savage attacks was impressive, but Masakado had taught Kazuya how to fight gods. The single most important thing was to remain confidant. Many gods of the world fought humanity through intimidation, fear, and faith. With their words and presence, they tried to inflict doubts in oneself and inspire awed faith in them. Once a person was aware of that, reserving one's doubts for the god put the battle in one's favor. It was less how well one fought and more how well one could maintain the willpower to remain in battle and win.

The high ground they were on was slick with mud when Revana fell; puddles were joining together under the increasing rain. Vishnu slowed in his dance spell crafting to face them. "Thank you for taking out that pest; you are an incredible fighter. Now if you could just take care of the crow, I should have this handled soon."

"No, we won't do that," Kazuya said, stepping into the ring of torches with Yuka.

That startled Vishnu enough that his moves shifted out of a pattern. "But, you've taken out Revana here when all faithful humans should be taking shelter in the Cathedral. I've got to do this so that the true God can return. What are you doing here?"

"Stopping both of you," he said. "The shield of the Japanese gods should remain."

"Oh, you're a serious nationalist," Vishnu said. "My apologies, I would honor you greatly otherwise, but now I must kill you to complete my task." He summoned two swords, but attacked them with Maziodyne.

Since he had stopped with the counter spell, Yagatarasu could fly in the way they had entered to join the battle. It took more coordination between them since Kazuya only had the single katana and his handgun to face off against the two swords. But there was no doubt in them. They had taken out Revana who was equally matched to Vishnu. They would defeat him too.

And did. When Vishnu fell, the torches were instantly extinguished. Yagatarasu landed on one. "Echinda is coming directly here since Revana fell," he said. "We can just wait here."

"That's fine," Kazuya said, looking up into the storm clouds. The rain continued to thicken when it was already at typhoon level. "At this rate, we'll be completely underwater here in a couple of hours."

Then a silver bolt of lightning struck down, different from what arced through the clouds. Silver lights accompanied a massive serpentine body. The being curled down to let a giant of a woman be seen. "What are you doing here, human?" Echidna said in dismissive tones. "I was coming to see who would kill our champion and find you've already killed his target too. What side are you on?"

"Humanity's side," Kazuya replied, leveling his katana at her. "Which means you too will be slain so you stop bringing monsters into the world."

She screamed, but that would not stop them.

The rain continued to pour down over the whole world.

* * *

The cold rain fell mercilessly down, even over him. Allen wore thick robes, but they didn't keep him warm. Instead, they weighed him down, anchoring him to this place. His breath was white in the air; the darkness and the rain kept him enclosed in spite of being out in the open. As he could no longer see out to the path where Haniel had stayed, he could only hope that the angel was there, still protecting him as their Messiah.

Or perhaps, guarding him, like a prisoner. Looking down, he saw the flow of water, how it moved quicker along lines engraved on this platform. The Heretic Mansion place that Kazuya used to fuse demons used magic circles like this. But this one reminded him more of their meeting with Gotou. He had covered his room with markings meant to help his summoning of Lucifer, the demon lord who'd been sealed away from the world some time ago. And when he happened to look out when a lightning bolt brightened the area, he could faintly see glowing lines on the tower up to the sunburst cross. They would continue on below, across the rooftops of the Grand Cathedral's various structures.

All focused here where… where the sacrifice should be. That's how it was then. When they said he was a lamb, they meant it in this way. And he was effectively trapped here: cold, hungry from however long he'd been out here praying, alone except for an angel he didn't see who barred the one path from this place aside from going off the unguarded edge. The demons were going to send Jin up here to kill him too, not knowing that they were playing right into the plan. Would it really matter which one of them died? Or perhaps, the plan was for them both to perish here.

There was a tale in the old scriptures where God asked a man to sacrifice his only son to Him. The father must have been devastated. But in those days, such acts were normal and greatly honored. When the two got to the place, God then stopped the father from actually killing his son. He explained it as a test of faith and offered a wild goat to be sacrificed instead. God did not want human sacrifices made to Him. There were no further requests like that made within the scriptures, old or new. But this…

And, there was the more well-known tale of the Great Flood where mankind had grown so wicked that God saw fit to wipe the slate clean. But He saved a few who were true to Him and helped them to survive it. When the waters receded, he sent a rainbow as a promise to not flood the world again. Not only that, but God Himself grew more forgiving over time, until He sent His own son, the first Messiah, to teach humanity how to live better lives and eventually to sacrifice himself in atonement for their sins. But this…

It wasn't the same. It was worse as the world had already been razed with nuclear fires, now to be washed out with this torrential rain. More personally, Allen hadn't known the intent was to sacrifice him for this summoning, or that it would come so soon after his second revival. It was only being out here and noticing the way this was set-up that he realized it fully. This was not right.

Being out here, he also could see clearly what had been wrong with his meeting with God. Allen had confided in God for many years, about his worries, his fears, his struggles to fit in. The God he prayed to would know about all that; the God he believed in would have encouraged him before passing on this massive responsibility to him. If so, he might not have cracked under all this pressure. And it wouldn't have been a pair with little faith in the Mesia Church who came to support him if he still did.

This was not for the God he believed in. Allen knew that for certain. But what did he do now? He could leave this place, although he'd have to fight Haniel when the angel realized he meant to quit the summoning. But could he really do that? The angel probably didn't feel the hunger, the cold, and the weariness that Allen was feeling now. The Kodachi of Light wouldn't help against an angel, like it hadn't helped with this dark and cold. And Allen hadn't fought demons on his own, there had always been someone with him, someone stronger.

And whoever was orchestrating this was able to summon this immense storm that seemed like it might never end.

There was still something he could rely on, someone he had faith in. "God, my God, I need you more than ever," Allen prayed quietly. "If it pleases You, let me prove the truth to all and stop the false one who has taken Your name. I still believe in You, my confidant and my one true Lord."

Light filled him then, warming his body back up. It was the light that accompanied his miracles; maybe he had been doing work for his God already? _Your faith and wisdom has led you to part of the truth. Yuji, you have endured where many others would have given in; you have kept faith but not become blinded by it. Your brother comes for you._

There was a twinge in his heart. Only his mother called him by that name since he took Allen upon being baptized by the Mesian church… by the church that was going to let him be sacrificed and drove people away by condemning them. "My brother?" Yuji asked.

In response, the rain shifted directions as if he was looking through a kaleidoscope. Many images scattered through the rain, past, present, and future. A few came sharper, going back across his mother, a father he'd never met… a brother he had met but hadn't recognized… and something very far in the past that briefly gave Yuji a headache seeing it.

_Would you pray for your brother?_

"Jin..." he pulled his hands closer to his chest and bowed his head. Even when he closed his eyes, those images were still surrounding his mind. There was far more than he'd guessed at going on. "Yes. I pray that he can let the goodness in his heart show."

Yuji continued to pray there, no longer feeling alone.

* * *

The water was splashing above their knees now. Kazuya kept hold of Yuka's hand to make sure they didn't get swept away from each other. With walls of water pounding down on them, it was impossible to hear anything but the torrent. He kept his comp close to his chest, trying to keep the screen clear so he could follow the map back to the nearest terminal. It was within the Radio Tower that the Mesians had been using for their broadcasts.

Finally, a dark form of a doorway could be seen ahead. Kazuya grabbed the handle and pulled on it; the weight of the water pushed against it. They had to get in. While Yuka still knew that teleporting spell, the Cathedral was protected from entry that way. And the bridge would certainly be untethered by now. He shifted his right hand so that Yuka could still hang onto his elbow, then called out one of his new demons. Then he put his hand over his headset, hoping that helped. "Orochi, bust down this door!"

The eight-headed snake hissed against the torrent, waiting on them to move aside. He then lowered three of his heads and bashed the door in. Without being asked, he curled his body around to block out some of the water that immediately rushed into the tower.

They still got pulled in; Yuka tugged on him trying to brace both of them. Kazuya caught the doorframe with his left hand, hanging on a moment to let the movement slow. Once they were steady again, he put his hand on the headset to add, "Thanks, I'll call you back in a moment." Then they hurried inside.

Due to the flood, the power was out inside. But other terminals worked in spite of their rooms being cut off from everything in the devastated landscape. Surely this one would be able to get them away even in these conditions. The water followed them into the terminal room, spilling down into a trench with a drain. Had that been there originally? Not that it mattered now, they were staking their lives on this.

Thankfully, the terminal's screen lit up once they stood on the plate. He picked out the one labeled 'Cathedral – Central Floor South'. It brought them to a drier room where the only things soaking wet were themselves. After recalling Orochi, he felt like he could relax a little. "Thank goodness they have a laundromat already set up nearby," he said, trying not to fling too much water around as he moved off the plate. "We should probably change in here."

"I've got some sealed clothes from the academy into your storage, they should fit us so we can clean the rest," Yuka said.

"Thanks," he said, but then had a thought of what would be sealed there. "Are they uniforms?" When she laughed, he rolled his eyes. "Well, we do want the people gathered here to trust us."

"It'll be great!" she said, smiling eagerly.

When they came out of terminal room, a group of people in the hall looked their way. From the clerical robes on some of them and symbols with the others, they were Mesians (or pretending to be). "Where did you come in from?" one of the priests asked them.

"Out in the city," Kazuya said honestly. "Sorry about dripping everywhere, but we were taking care of Revana and Echidna so they can't back the rest of the demons."

"Thank you for that service, sir," the priest said, bowing to them with the other priest. "We'll spread the good news; God should come to us soon."

"Except Vishnu's dead too, so he can't complete that task," he said.

"Oh dear, well..." the priest furrowed his brows.

"Weren't you saying that our Messiah can handle things, no matter how they turn out?" one of the women asked in worry.

"He can, but this could take longer," the priest said. "I should pass word of this to our leader. Still, thanks again for your courageous service."

"No problem," Yuka said.

They headed over to the laundromat to get their clothes washed and dried. The three central floors of the Cathedral had been turned into a massive contained town with many services that the citizens of Tokyo had long gone without. While it was an admirable effort, it just brought up questions of why they couldn't set up these services throughout Tokyo and skip this second cataclysmic event. They would have gotten plenty of followers just for providing fresh clean clothes.

"So who are we challenging first in here to get them to stop messing with people?" Yuka asked, sitting on one of the unused washers.

"Whoever tries to come into this area first, especially if they come while the two of us are trying to take a break," Kazuya said, going over to lean on that washer. "You make a beautiful cop, Yuka."

She smiled at him and played with a bit of his still damp hair. "Maybe, but you're the one that everyone's going to look at and know they can depend on you for safety. Unless they're demons or angels, then they ought to fear you." She poked his nose too. "Besides, all I can do is imitate you in trying to be a cop."

He grabbed at her hand, smiling when she jerked it away and made him miss. "Nah, you're the best support I can have and I wouldn't want anyone else at my side, whether in battle or just goofing around here doing laundry."

"Maybe it's only been a week in this life, but I feel like it's been that way forever." Then an alarm sounded, breaking the moment. "Geez, some people have the worst timing," she said, hopping off the washer.

"Let's find out what's going on," Kazuya said, although he felt disappointed too at the interruption.

As it turned out, the clash between angels and demons had broken out here in the central area. Three of the demon generals, Surt, Ashtoreth, and Arioch, were being pushed back to their basement territory by three of the seraphs, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel. Other humans were being called out of the way as the six seemed to have no qualms with collateral damage and death in their struggle. If the battle spread out any more, a lot of people could die unnecessarily.

Kazuya got the summoning program to analyze the six main combatants. "They've been at this a while," he said, showing Yuka the results. "Arioch is just about dead, but somehow the seraphs aren't causing enough damage to finish him off. Gabriel is nearly the same way, but she's not relenting either. And it looks as though she'll resist even this sword."

"So, we take the two of them out, then the other four?" Yuka asked.

Nodding, he said, "Surt and Ashtoreth seem better off for the moment. Let's see if we can't snipe Gabriel without being spotted. Then we'll come out, take out Arioch, and then work on the other two demon generals. Once they're finished, we'll take out the other two seraphs when they think they can relax their guard."

"She's coming," Yuka whispered, stepping back.

They had a pillar that jutted out of the corner for some cover; most of them hadn't noticed, but Gabriel would probably spot them soon. As he was better trained for it, Kazuya took his gun and watched the weakened seraph closely. There was enough noise with the rest of the battle that this should be covered… hopefully…

When she got in a spot that she could easily turn her head and spot them, Kazuya fired and took out Gabriel in one shot. Then it was time to carry out the rest of his plan.


	17. The True Confrontation

Why… did this place… have to be… so massive?

Jin's lungs still burned although there was no smoke here. His legs felt like jelly; he'd forced them up who knew how many flights and halls now. While he was supposed to be strong… and he was, he could swing the Guillotine Axe like it was a paper fan when it came to battle… he tripped on the landing at this turn and fell to his hands and knees. He shivered, half out of weakness and half out of how cold it was up here.

He had to… keep going… no... reserve his strength… for that one last act.

Pulling himself closer to the wall, Jin let himself lay there and closed his eyes. His body shut down the moment he did, shutting out all his suffering. The only reason he was sure that he wasn't dead was that his mind kept drifting. At least in dreams, he could still feel as strong as he should be.

And fast, he was running through a grassy field, under a moonless starry sky. He was human again; it was an amazing rush, feeling the cool air fall away from him. In the darkness that surrounded him, voices whispered to him, beckoning, asking him to believe. They could tell him things that…

The darkness leapt up out of the landscape, crashing down on him. Jin stumbled and found himself surrounded by it. Immediately, the voices started laughing at him. "Shut up!" he yelled, trying to not show how afraid he was. That only made them laugh more. Trying to think of something to do, he looked at his hands and got a shock; they were blood-splattered, and a rock with a mass of blood and hair was in his right hand. What was this?

"It was a moment where anger blinded you," Allen said. "I don't believe you would have done it if you had calmed down."

Turning around, he found Allen just behind him, part of his head bashed in and blood trickling down his face. He shouldn't be alive like that, yet he managed to sit on his knees. The voices started whispering to him again. Allen was a fool and weakling that they were putting up on a pedestal for no good reason. He always got glowing praise, others acted like he could do no wrong. While he depended on others to get anything done, he was an honors student, the well-mannered one that always looked good and never had to deal with needing glasses or anything awkward like that, the one that got embarrassed just because he was in a clean puppy love relationship… the so-called Messiah that everyone praised and wanted to hear from just because they thought he was so amazing while they passed on Jin because he looked like a deviant and had to work thrice as hard for anything good in his life…

The one who was trying to forgive him here…

"Please, help me," Allen begged. His head wound vanished to be replaced with that ridiculous holy man getup. Only, this time there were immense chains lashed around him in such a way that he could not move from where he was sitting. "I want to tell everyone the truth, but if I die..." another chain wrapped around, slapping a cover on Allen's mouth and forcing him to be silent and still.

If he died, Jin would escape being in his shadow and prove his power to everyone left alive. Everyone would fear him; he'd become a legend and legends never died.

Except, he was going to die no matter what he decided to do.

Allen looked down, teary-eyed as one would expect. But there were reasons behind everyone's weaknesses, wasn't there? That was the look of a kid who'd been repeatedly smacked down from trying to stand out, for things he couldn't help. A fragile confidence was detestable, but was it something he should be hated for?

He used to defend kids in school who were like that.

"Even if they set him up, he could be something great if he got the courage to reach for it," Kazuya said, stepping out of the darkness nearby. Yuka was with him as always; those two really were inseparable. But they were looking at him. "You should have had the chance to do many great things too. But you've been wandering the darkness chasing those voices for a long time."

"Have I?" Jin asked.

"We want you back with us too," Yuka said, sad for some reason. "Will you help your brother?"

"Brother?" Jin asked, skeptical of that. But maybe in some strange twist of fate…

"Hey, wake up!" a rude voice broke into the dream. There was a clang of metal against metal, a scorpion's chitter of warning. "Stop babying him, dumb bug."

Feeling hazy as he was forced out of a dream state, Jin groggily opened his eyes. His Guillotine Scorpion was right next to him, in a protective stance with its upper limbs snapping together. Past him, the brown-skinned warrior god Asura turned aside in disgust and looked up the stairs. Jin reached over and patted the scorpion. It glanced over at him, but opted to keep defending him.

"Does Lucifer mean to put me in an impossible position?" Asura muttered. In this quiet stairwell, it was easy to hear him. "That Kazuya and Yuka killed off three of the seraphs, but also the three other generals. Now I've got to rely on this half-dead idiot to take out the Messiah and Michael. But if he can live long enough to do that, I can still be recognized as the undisputed conqueror of this edifice. Then Lucifer will have to recognize me over the rest..."

He was only a means to an end. Careful not to make noise, Jin got himself into a sitting position. Kazuya and Yuka had decided to take out both sides. Fine by him. Jin fired his most powerful fire attack at Asura while the demon's back was turned. Asura growled in fury, but wasn't putting his guard up yet. Good. "Execute him," Jin ordered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Asura snapped, waiting on drawing one of his swords. Meanwhile, the Guillotine Scorpion extended its dozen upper limbs to grab Asura and force him onto the scorpion's back. "You can't do this! We're meant to take over this Cathedral together."

"I never wanted to be some stuffy old god's pawn," Jin said. "Go on."

"It can't..."

The scorpion then brought down its bladed tail heavily onto Asura's neck. He died immediately; his head rolled away for a few seconds before it and his body vanished. "You were saying before that demons can't kill other demons above a certain threshold of power," Jin said. "That doesn't protect any of you when the demon is under a human's orders to kill you."

With the task done, Guillotine Scorpion came back over to him. It gave a happy hum and reached up a pincer to pat him gently. Then it grabbed him with its upper limbs. But instead of being put in a position to execute, Guillotine Scorpion secured Jin to sit on its back, using its tail to support him. Then it started up the stairs with him.

"Thanks, buddy, I'm glad I can rely on you," Jin said, smiling a bit. With some more rest like this, maybe he could take on Michael still.

* * *

"Are you still praying to God?"

"Yes," Yuji said, trying to look away from the myriad of visions at hand. His robes were still drenched; bits of ice crystals shone in the light. Light? He opened his eyes fully and found that lights had been directed to this summoning platform. A bubble of energy was keeping the torrential rain off him, even softening the noise of it. "You broke my concentration."

"Sorry, but circumstances have changed," Michael said to him. Haniel was watching the walkway silently. "Vishnu was killed before he could break the barrier of the pagan gods. I was going to take care of them myself so you may proceed, but the first man and woman have chosen a nonsensical path of destruction. They have slain my peers and the demon generals, to where myself, Haniel, and Asura are the only leaders still present."

There was something wrong with that statement. Yuji could feel it. "Lucifer is here too."

"Is he?" Michael tightened his lips, trying not to show his emotions. "If we're lucky, Kazuya and Yuka may decide to pursue him next. The demon lord is not the only uninvited one here either. Many false believers have slipped inside the Cathedral to save their own lives, tainting the future that we have been working towards. That includes Kazuya and Yuka, even that fool Jin whom the demons have been propping up as a hero. Most of the city's inhabitants got inside."

While he thought that was good, Yuji remained silent about that.

Unfortunately, Michael had different opinions. "They must be purged before the true millennium of God can begin. Allen, there will be a broadcast shortly where you will announce that the disbelievers will be shifted out of the Cathedral. No mercy will be shown for such deceivers. Then you must assure the rest that God will descend and end the storm."

"I see," he said. There was a warmth around him, a reassurance and passing something to him. Keeping his hands in his sleeves, Yuji felt encouraged to ask, "Is that why you turned the lights on and repelled the rain now?"

"It would be difficult for them to understand you otherwise," the seraph said. "I will break the shield that keeps you from summoning God. Haniel will signal you when the broadcast begins."

"All right," Yuji said. Michael nodded and took off into the storm, protected by his own powers.

Once he made sure Haniel wasn't watching, he took his hand out of his sleeves and found a bread roll in hand. It was warm and fragrant; his God didn't want him to suffer. Yuji ate it quietly, then waited. While the angels had tried to hide it, he knew what they were waiting on to begin broadcasting. He needed to have faith in him.

* * *

By the time Jin and his scorpion reached the eighth floor, he felt well enough to walk on his own. He was still in pain, but it was where he could ignore it and press on. Allen was supposed to be up here, possibly Michael too. While there was a grand room in the center, no one was there. Allen should be the only human up here, but there were no angels or demons inside either. But, there was a passage to somewhere outside.

The rain poured in thick sheets down a magical barrier keeping it off the structures out here. Haniel hovered in Jin's way, blocking the narrow path out to the large platform where a small white figure knelt. "You shall go no further, demon," the angel said, spreading their wings for battle. "I will not allow you to carry out your fiendish schemes."

Jin grunted, not wanting to waste painful words on him. Guillotine Scorpion screeched, lashing out its tail at Haniel. The angel blasted it with powerful light. In that moment of distraction, Jin rushed over and cut off two of the angel's wings. Haniel screamed and lashed out wildly with his limbs in pain. But that doomed the angel; another strike brought a swift end to him. The scorpion chittered, ignoring the wounds it had. But its lot in life was to fight until its death, just like himself.

Still, Jin held a hand out to warn it to keep back. Then he headed out to the circular platform. Allen was there in the center, kneeling with his hands at his chest. His already heavy robes were soaked from this thick rain, hinting that this barrier was recent. Despite that, his body temperature seemed normal. Was that one of his miracle powers? As Jin got close, Allen put his hands in his lap and looked up at him. He did not look angry, nor fearful.

Jin brought up his axe between them as a rumble filled the air. "I've been sent to kill you," he said.

"I know that," Allen said, then pointed to something nearby: a camera.. "They're broadcasting now, letting everyone in the central floors see this."

Jin waited there a moment, checking around. There was no protection on this platform, just straight drops far off into the dark stormy air. Similarly, there was nothing to get in their way here. The lightning chained each other in the clouds, but had not yet struck downward. Allen got to his feet, but still did not move to attack him. Of course, his best spells would not require movement at all.

But then, Jin could move swiftly with his axe, when the situation called for it.

Across from him, Allen bowed his head. "Will you strike me down?"

He'd thought long and hard about this. "No."

There was a louder rumble of thunder overhead.

Allen looked over at him. "I had hoped not. I waited to talk with you."

"Out here in this cold rain?" Jin asked.

He nodded. "I could not afford to give away my position until I met with you. I do not wish to kill you either." The rumble was a clap this time, making them pause. Allen looked up at the sky. "I don't want to upset Kazuya."

"Me either," Jin said, lowering his axe to his side. "They said," he had to stop as the cold air got his lungs; Allen waited patiently on him. The sky impatiently rumbled. "I should make my last act… a great one. But this isn't… what I want to do with it. I also realized, I've been a jackass this whole time. I thought I could… stop all the awful people in the world, with this power. But I was worse than any of them, even Ozawa. And now, I can hardly talk, I don't have long to live. I'm a murderer. But you, Yuka, and Kazuya still consider me a friend. I do too. I'm sorry for everything." He brought up a fist. "I wanted to be a wish granter, see? But I'm not. I'm just... Takeshi, a fool who took far too many risks."

"Takeshi, I'm sorry I didn't try to listen earlier," Allen said, once it was clear he'd said his piece. "People like you have always intimated me; others were quick to bully me."

"You were the perfect student and you still got bullied?" Takeshi asked. "I was too, but for being the kid who had glasses and braces that everyone thought was a deviant. And, that turned me into one."

"I dove into my studies to avoid the bullies," he said. "As well as my belief in the Church. They called me their Messiah, but being out here, I came to realize," he looked over. However much time he had to work up his courage to this, he was still nervous.

He did want to tell the truth. Takeshi was sure now that it was something the Mesians would really hate. Although he didn't have much time left, he nodded. He still intended to take out Michael. With any energy he had left from that, he'd protect his brother until they could get him to Kazuya and Yuka.

For a moment, Allen smiled. "I am not the Messiah," he said, then cast off his ridiculous robes. It left him in a white tank top and thin pants, out here where his breath would be readily visible to anyone watching the broadcast below. Throwing off the hat so that it rolled off the platform, he said, "I am Yuji, a prophet to the Messiah who has not yet arrived."

There was a tremendous boom from overhead, a light that nearly blinded them in the darkness. He wasn't just slapping away the hands of the Mesians who tried to control him, Takeshi realized. Yuji was speaking against the God who had called him Messiah. While he was sure he could take on Michael, taking on God… well, he'd give it his best. Takeshi moved closer to Yuji, keeping alert to their surroundings.

As he got close, it was clear Yuji wasn't paying attention to things outside of whatever he was seeing as a prophet. "When I was first called, I didn't realize how deluded the Church was. They have forgotten the core scriptures, to treat your fellow man with respect, that God should be worshiped through love and not fear." He gestured up to the cross. "I don't know how, but I was not called by the God I believe in. I was called by the God who is worshiped through fear and mindless obedience, a much harsher incarnation than the one recorded in the Old Testament.

"Takeshi, you were witness with me and a few others to the ceremony that summoned Lucifer into this world thirty years ago. Do you recognize this?" He spread his hands out to the ground, where arcane markings were engraved into the stone. "This is the same, simply on a much larger scale with the very structure of these highest floors of the Cathedral built for the purpose of summoning the false God. It would also be a sacrificial summoning, that of me as the summoner, and you as the one to kill me. Yes, the angels anticipated the demons' movements and accounted for that. That was why Haniel was here; he was meant to kill you after you struck me down, but you killed him off first."

"This is worse than I thought," Takeshi said. The storm was being quiet, for the moment. But he had a feeling it was waiting on an opportune moment.

Yuji nodded. "In the Old Testament of the old scriptures, there is a tale of a man who was told to sacrifice his only son to God. It turned out to be a test of faith; God stopped him before he did and offered a wild goat instead to serve as a sacrifice. But I know that will not be the case here. God has also promised not to flood the whole world again, but here were are, another massive worldwide flood started. I'm not going to call on a God that would break promises like that."

"Then you really waited out here in this torrent just for me?" Jin asked.

Yuji put his hands to his chest again. "I heard from the God I believe in. He told me to wait for you, just as I wanted to. Through Him, I have seen much of what is going on, and what will happen. I have also seen the true Messiah who will rise to save the world from the many mistakes humans, demons, and even angels have made. He will arise as if from nowhere, with a greater power of miracles than I and a mind as pure as freshly fallen snow. He can free us from the expectations of gods who do not care for us. And, I will confirm him as the Messiah.

"That is for the future. For now, Takeshi, you and I should go to Kazuya and Yuka, and work with them to defeat the leaders of the angels and the demons here in the Cathedral. I cannot save your life, I'm afraid. But, my God, the one who loves us all, even you, would like you to see this through to the end." Yuji held his hand out to him.

"I want nothing more than that," Takeshi said, walking up to take his hand. That was a final act he could agree to wholeheartedly.

Before they could reach each other, the sky lashed out at their act of friendship. Lightning crashed down around them in a deafening din; it broke right through the narrow walkway out here and a support arch underneath, ripping both out of place. Yuji still had his hand out, even as he started losing his balance.

Takeshi rushed for him, grabbing Yuji and moving out of a massive bolt of lightning with him. The platform collapsed, sending them both careening out over the rough seas. Perhaps it was a futile gesture… no, Takeshi didn't care if he died today. It was his fate and the moment Yuji had looked to him for support, he accepted that in his heart too. But Yuji could still do a lot of good in the world; he had to be there to meet the Messiah he wanted to see. He could not die today.

The plates on Takeshi's back cracked painfully as they fell, freeing a set of long dragonfly wings. He tightened his grip on Yuji as his wings beat furiously to speed them away from the falling wreckage. Hanging on as best he could, Yuji tapped his arm, then pointed back towards the Cathedral. The wingbeats, rain, and thunder made it difficult to hear him, but Takeshi followed his directions back to the building, to a window that Yuji tore out of place with his wind magic.

They entered a room with computer panels and a large array of television monitors. Nobody else was here as Takeshi set his brother down. "I didn't think scorpions had wings," Yuji said.

"It was a gift from your God, I think," he said. "What is this place?"

"Security for the whole Cathedral," he said. Despite being without his heavy robes, he still looked like he'd taken a long swim in the ocean from all that he was dripping. Yuji went over to a metal seat to fiddle with the security console. "I only got to see this briefly, but it should work out… I can send permission to Kazuya's comp to let him use all the terminals within the Cathedral. That should let him come up here, then we need to figure out where to confront the supernatural leaders."

"I killed off Asura already," Takeshi said.

"That's great." After a moment, he smiled at some data. "And it seems like the two of them have already taken out most of the others. That leaves Michael and..."

Takeshi coughed suddenly, feeling the chill of this place again; he'd been talking a lot in this meeting.

Glancing over at him, Yuji said, "You don't have to say much anymore if you don't want to. You've told me enough; I'll let Kazuya and Yuka know when we find them, if they hadn't seen it."

Takeshi nodded. That was probably best, to save his energy for where it was really needed.

Looking back at the maps, Yuji continued searching. "There's just… yes, one big problem here."

"Finding Kaz?" Takeshi pointed out a pair of human signatures marked on the ground floor; one of them had Kazuya's comp and he never let that go.

He shook his head. "No," then pointed out a name. "Lucifer. The system is detecting him somewhere in the Cathedral, but it can't pinpoint his location. For a while now, I've felt his presence, but I have no idea where he is. It's really weird; he should be glaringly obvious from the power we felt back then. And shouldn't he be a huge corrupted angel? That should be visible on the video feeds, even to the security program. But it can't find him, other than to detect that he is here with us."

"Never met him," Takeshi said. "Kaz… has a sense of things. We can ask him."

"That's true," Yuji said, stopping his work. "Between us, we should be able to figure out where Lucifer is. I'll sending a message to Kazuya so we can meet up."

Thinking about something, he tugged at the strap of Yuji's tank top. "You should change. Get some armor."

"Oh, right," he said, a bit embarrassed. "There should be some in the closet here; it is for security."

He nodded. "Get dressed so you don't catch cold. I'll message him."

Yuji chuckled and went to check around the security closet.

* * *

'Glad to hear you two are fine. We only saw part of the broadcast and it cut off when the platform broke away. But shortly after it did, Michael showed up here on the central floor and demanded that Yuji was brought to him. He's got an area outside shielded from the rain, so come down here and we'll confront him together.'

When they walked through the ground level floor, most people immediately stared at Takeshi. They didn't recognize Yuji immediately with the armor of a lower ranked cleric, but must have realized it from Takeshi's presence. These people kept away, most likely intimidated by the appearance of strength. But Yuji could hear his ragged breath and see how his plates occasionally twinged. He was strong to continue on in a state like this and it seemed better to let him do as he wanted.

They found Kazuya and Yuka outside the area where the others who hadn't chosen a faction were gathering. The Mesians and Gaeans had each claimed their own portion of the central floors. So far, there hadn't been a conflict between the three groups here. "Yuka, Kazuya," Yuji called, waving to them. "We need to talk first."

They came over immediately. "Are you okay?" Kazuya asked, looking to Takeshi. He shook his head.

"He's dealing with it as best he can, but it's difficult for him to talk for long," Yuji said. "And, we both decided to go back to our birth names now."

"It's Takeshi and Yuji, right?" Kazuya asked. "That's fine. What are you two going to do now?"

"I've refused to summon the God of these seraphs and he refused the demon leader's command that he kill me," Yuji explained. "Instead, we've decided to follow your lead, to kill off the angels and the demons to free us all to work together instead of apart. Takeshi doesn't have much time, but he took care of Asura. He should be good if we're just fighting Michael now."

"I only got good at killing," Takeshi said regretfully. "Might as well," his breathing turned rough again, "do some good with it. Sorry, for being a pain, and everything."

"It's all right," Kazuya said, clasping his hand. "I'm glad you decided to help others in the end. Do you two need to do anything around here before we head off for battle? Michael's being patient for now."

They didn't, so they headed outside to deal with Michael. It was good to be working together again, all four of them finally. Outside, the red-winged seraph watched them with a quiet fury. The pavement here was oddly warm, like it had been quickly dried out for this purpose. The outdoor lights had been turned to this wide path between two meditation ponds. For some reason, the seraph was mindful enough to prepare a fair battlefield when he had no need to stand on the ground.

"What do you want, Michael?" Yuji asked.

"I'll tell you once you send the rest away, especially that demon," he said, not even looking at the rest of them.

"I won't, so you'll have to talk with them here," he said.

Michael glared down at him. "You're supposed to be obedient and faithful. What has made you turn from us at the last minute?"

"It was longer ago than that when I realized the truth of things," he said, remaining calm. He had his friends here, and his God was watching. "When you told me we were to purge those who had taken shelter here, I could not agree to that. The people have suffered enough; I will not allow that to happen."

"They are unworthy and will continue to make the righteous ones suffer," Michael insisted. "This is God's will, why will you not follow Him?"

"Because your god is false and I will not follow a god whose actions contradict the teachings of my God," Yuji said.

While Michael scowled, Kazuya stepped up by him. "I was never a follower of this church, but I couldn't back a god who so callously destroys his creations, nor one who would raise up an honest believer like Yuji to a false position meant only for sacrifice."

"Right, who'd want to follow a god that asks for so much but doesn't give anything in return?" Yuka said.

"You have become blinded to the truth!" Michael yelled, casting a powerful spell that briefly made everything white. "Therefore, as important as you were, you must perish and forget this life. Perhaps in the next, you will all finally recover your senses."

Yuji dropped back behind Kazuya and his demons, calling on his strongest group healing spell to recover everyone from that. While Kazuya brought up his gun, Takeshi was quicker to take to the air and drop his axe into Michael's left wing. It was obvious that wing was now broken. But Michael remained hovering there even after getting shot too.

Then something else dropped out of the air: Takeshi's giant scorpion attacked Michael's other wing without being asked to. That forced the seraph to the ground. Grunting in pain, he brought out a flaming sword and went to strike the scorpion while it was dazed from the landing. Takeshi blocked the blow with his axe; both of them were using all their might to keep the other from moving.

Seeing a chance, Kazuya swapped out to his katana while Yuka blessed them to have more power. Yuji sent a healing spell over to the scorpion, a lesser one since he didn't want to wear himself out too quickly. It scuttled away a foot, but then readied its tail. The scorpion and Kazuya both struck Michael at the same time, freeing Takeshi to add a third strike. Still, Michael wasn't finished with them. He struck the ground with his fist and blasted the three of them away. Yuji barely got to heal them back up when Michael cast his powerful spell again. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he was dying.

Then Yuka nailed Michael in the head with her gun. He collapsed to the ground and quickly faded away, just like the demons. "You guys okay?" she asked while Yuji got off his healing spell.

"Mostly," Kazuya said, sitting up from where he'd fallen. The scorpion got up as well, but it immediately went to Takeshi's side.

He wasn't going to get up from that. Yuji hurried over there as well, kneeling by him. "Takeshi..."

The bone plate that had covered the lower half of his face was broken off now, leaving a raw blood red mess there. But he seemed more human again for that. Shuddering, Takeshi reached over to him; Yuji took his hand. "Least I'm… not alone now."

"Of course, we won't leave you alone," Yuka said as she came over with Kazuya. The scorpion even put its face into Takeshi's side, curling its axe into a harmless position.

"Right, but I wish we could have done something more to save you," Kazuya said, using a wall of calm to keep from grief. Maybe he couldn't understand the depths of it, not remembering something of lives in ancient times.

Some thought allowed Takeshi to put the pain of dying out of mind as he quietly said, "Kazuya, don't be like that. You saved us, really. It could've been a lot worse."

"Right, you did," Yuji said. "We admire you a lot; that's what led him to rethink things and strike down Asura instead of me. And if it wasn't for your help, I would've gone along meekly with this being pretending to be the God I believe in. This is awful, but..." he looked up and realized that the drone of the torrent had quieted, "the rain's slowing. It might even stop by dawn instead of going on for forty days."

"Then it was Michael doing that," Takeshi said. "But they're gonna come back. Arioch and Asura were telling me about that; they and the angels are just going to come back and try to gain control of the world again."

"We won't let them," Kazuya said. "We'll fight them off again, but more than that, we'll teach others to keep standing up for what's good for humanity."

"Good, but Yuji's supposed to identify the real Messiah when that person comes." Takeshi tightened his grip a little. "Somebody who can really change things and save us from this mess. Whatever comes next, you make sure you survive it."

"Sure," Yuji said, his prophecy coming back into mind. He'd need to devote himself to study and communing with his God in order to figure out how he was meant to recognize the true Messiah. But for this moment of parting...

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of him," Kazuya said.

It was embarrassing, but Takeshi smiled at that and closed his eyes. There wasn't much time. "Thanks," Yuji said. "Um, Takeshi? I know you avoided the church, but may I pray for you?"

"Sure," he said, his voice even quieter. "I wouldn't mind meeting your God."

Usually this was done by putting both hands on the person's head. But given how things were, Yuji held onto Takeshi's hand with one and put his other hand on Takeshi's head. He bowed his head and recited the prayer for a peaceful passing from life. As he did, the warm light of miracles filled him. Maybe… no, even this wasn't going to save his life.

But it was going to do something much greater. Yuji's mind briefly left the moment, coming to a place he shouldn't remember. A grassy field, his own gravestone covered in moss as though any who'd remember the death was long gone… and Takeshi was there, at a lone spot where he could recognize where he was no matter how much history changed it. For an ancient crime their souls barely remembered, he had been cursed and endlessly lost.

"I forgive you, brother," Yuji said, touching his shoulder. "May this night finally end for you so you may find peace."

"That's why they chose us," Takeshi said. There were tears of remorse on his face. But as the sun rose, he smiled. "But, I finally saved you. Next life, things will be better, I promise." Takeshi hugged him.

"I know, I promise too," Yuji said. The vision ended; he should feel glad for it, but it was another life ended. Another person he'd lost. He set Takeshi's hand down, then sobbed.

Kazuya hugged him, but it was clear that he was suffering as well.

* * *

Those who weren't sleeping trickled out of the cathedral, to see the cloudless sky full of stars that seemed to hold many promises for the future. Those who saw their saviors out there mourning the loss of one of their own opted to leave them alone for now. By morning, people would want an explanation for what had gone on and what they should do next.

Among those who came outside was a blond man in a blue suit. He slipped out of notice and found a place to observe the scene, by some decorative planters and the damp concrete wall. The waters had already calmed down; they might recede quickly. Who knew, they might even help revive the grounds around here, stirring up dormant plants to grow more vigorously. Life was persistent in that way.

And closer in, another reality of the world, death. The boy's fusion had turned out to be a fatal mistake. That technology was new even if the idea had been used in more work-intensive ways before. The old ways made a human and demon fusion fatal immediately if it failed in the least. Compared to that, there was some promise in that he'd lived as long as he did, and had been as powerful as he was. It would be interesting to encourage other experiments in that vein.

But ultimately, this all had been a loss for Chaos. They'd lost ground far too quickly when Kazuya and his companions came out of the afterlife. Echidna had said she could organize the effort, and it was coordinated in terms of her children. But that nepotism bred discontent. Belial and Nebiros had split off the main effort thanks to the playful charms of Alice; Typhon had been self-absorbed with his court. And many other demons had simply strayed off doing their own thing. Chaos should break apart Law from many points, but even they needed some unity to make those breaks connect.

And the Mesia Church was built to work as an efficient machine, bringing all of their believers under a single plan. It had not been a perfect united front and they should really have taken advantage of that. Tugged at the frays. If it had been someone with more cunning than Arachne, they might have drawn Yuka to their side, pulling Kazuya along when he met with her again. They should have taken more advantage of the Church's forced labor and incited worker revolts. Now the Church was held in high favor, with the Gaean Temple reviled as those who encouraged the demons.

The winners in the end, though, were the humans. Those three there together, the former Church Messiah Yuji, the former prophet Yuka, and the true hero Kazuya, they were weak now in grief. But perhaps as soon as morning, they would come forward to become the strength of the human survivors. The humans would put aside their conflicts for a time and work together to establish themselves. Even the Guillotine Scorpion was influenced, quietly guarding the friends of its fallen master. Freedom for humanity… that was the mood that he read in the air tonight.

There was time to change that. Those three were weak now. They might lend an ear to soothing words, follow a gentle tug towards a side none of them had been on. While the Chaos Hero had fallen, in battle as one should, his memory might be used to nudge the others to his side posthumously.

And there was a small victory for Chaos remaining: Lucifer was back in the world, unsealed from his last unfortunate loss. Other demons might treat humans as pieces in a game they played against each other. Lucifer saw everyone around him as pieces in a game he was always playing against his greatest foe.

This time… Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the starry sky like the humans around him. Let them have their victory now. He could take advantage of a time of mourning, but it was a large risk to take. As he was still undiscovered, he didn't want to show himself too soon. If they got persistent and found him, he could always give them a nice show to make them believe they'd taken him down again. Otherwise, he would blend quietly into the crowd this time.

Yes. Bide his time, make new connections, start new plans. Set up a new game board with a strategy that could earn him power over mankind to secure a hold on Earth. There was going to be another true Messiah, sometime in the life that remained to the fifteen-year-old there? It made the most sense to focus his game plan on that person, snatching them out of the hands of others. Someday, he would make his victory complete and topple God forever.

Lucifer smiled to himself and relaxed.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: SMT I and II are definitely within the same world and timeline, which can't be said for III or IV. So yes, this timeline will be picked up again in Miracles of a Forsaken Child, which I'll start posting next week. Hope you enjoyed this one!  
> I went with this Neutral-ish ending because I feel like it could be an option. Since the Law and Chaos heroes try to pull the protagonist to their side, why can't the protagonist pull back and try to get them away from their extremes? The protagonist would have to convince both of them, though, or else the unconvinced one would destroy the other due to how the situation is set up. Also, the whole Adam and Eve situation is not very strong within the game; Lilith is the strongest evidence of that potential, in my opinion. The Cain and Abel situation, however, was something I added because it seemed like an interesting angle to take. It fits very well into the Chaos vs Law theme that stays strong within SMT.


End file.
